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Tin:  SHAME  or  TIII:  <  1 1  n:s 


T  II  1      SHAME     OF 
THE     CITIES 

BY 
LINCOLN     S  T  K  I    I 


NEW    YOK  K 
McCLURK.    PHILLIPS 
M  C  M  1  V 


CO. 


Copyright.    IMJ,  by 
McCLURE,   PHILLIPS  &  CO. 

Published,  March,  1904 


Second  Imprewion 


COPYRIGHT,  1908.  1903,  BT  8.  8.  MCCLUBX  COMPAKT 


(  <>\  i  I:\TS 


IxTBooucTiox;  AXD  SOME  COXCLUIIOXI        ... 

TWEED  DATS  ix  ST.  Lovu 99 

THE  SHAME  or  MIXXEAPOLIC 

THE  SHAMELEMXEM  or  ST.  Loun          ... 

Prrnvcio:  A  Cmr  AIHAMCO it: 

PHILADELPHIA:  Couurr  AXD  COXTEXTSO      .  .     193 

\oo:  HALT  PUEB  AXD  PIOIITIXO  Ox  .    233 

New  YotK :  GOOD  GOVUXMEXT  TO  THE  TEJT         .        .    979 


INTRODUCTION      \\I)  SOME 
COM  U'SIONfl 


i 


INTRODUCTION;  AND  SOME 

CONCLUSIONS 

is  not  a  book.     It  ii  a  collection  of  articles 
reprint i'd    from    Mct'lurt't   Magasme.    Done   as 

.:disin,    they    arc   journalism    utill,    and    no 
furtlu-r  pn  tensions  are  §et  up  for  them  in 
new  dreM.     This  classification  may  seem  preten- 

fiiou^h  ;  certainly  it  would  if  I  should  con- 
fess  what  claims  I  make  for  my  profession.  But 
no  matter  about  that;  I  insist  upon  tin-  jour- 
nalism. And  th.  r.-  is  my  justification  for  sepa- 
rating from  the  bound  volumes  of  the  mag .1 
and  NpoUUnqg]  cally  without  re-editing, 

my  accounts  as  a  reporter  of  the  shame  of  Ameri- 
'•s.     They  were  writt.n   with  a  purpose, 
they  were  published  serially  with  a  purpose,  and 
they  are  reprinted  now  together  to  further  that 

purpose,  which  was  and  is — to  sound  forJiie- 

pride  of  an  apparently  shameless  citizenship. 

Tin-re  must   he  Mich  a  thing,  we  reasoned.      All 

our  big  boasting  could  not  be  empty  vanity,  nor 

our   pious    pretensions    hollow   sham.      American 

.   art,  and  business    mean 

sound  abilities  at  bottom,  and  our  hypocrisy  a 

3 


*         THE  SHAM1    OF  THE  CITIES 
race    sense    of    fundamental    ethic-.       l'.\«n     in 
government   we  have  gmn    proofs   of   potential 
greatness,    and    our    political    failures    an     not 
complete ;    they    an-   simply    ridiculous.      Hut    they 
are  ours.     Not  alone  tin-  triumphs  and  the  states- 
iiu-n,  the  dtf'r, its  and  the  grafters  also  r«-pr 
us,  and  just  as  truly.     Why  not  see  it  so  and 
say  it? 

Because,  I  heard,  the  American  people  won't 
"stand  for"  it.  You  may  blame  the  politicians, 
or,  indeed,  any  one  class,  but  not  all  classes,  not 
the  people.  Or  you  may  put  it  on  the  ignorant 
foreign  immigrant,  or  any  one  nationality,  but 
not  on  all  nationalities,  not  on  the  America M 
people.  But  no  one  class  is  at  fault,  nor  any  one 
breed,  nor  any  particular  interest  or  group  of 
interests.  The  misgovernment  of  the  American 
V>people  is  misgovernment  by  the  American  people. 
When  I  set  out  on  my  travels,  an  honest  New 
Yorker  told  me  honestly  that  I  would  find  that  the 
Irish,  the  Catholic  Irish,  were  at  the  bottom  of 
it  all  everywhere.  The  first  city  I  went  to  was  St. 
Louis,  a  German  city.  The  next  was  Minneapolis, 
a  Scandinavian  city,  with  a  leadership  of  New 
Englandcrs.  Then  came  Pittsburg,  Scotch  Pres- 
byterian, and  that  was  what  my  New  York  friend 
was.  "  Ah,  but  they  are  all  foreign  population*," 
I  heard.  The  next  city  was  Philadelphia,  the  pur- 


IVI  KuDI   «    I  ION  5 

est  American  rommui  ,  and  the  moat  hope- 

In. tl»  molten  I  hr.  d.  hut  the  one  a  triumph  n: 
,  tin •  uti  l»cet  example  of  good  go\ 

ment  that  I  had  teen.    The  "  fort 


i.s  our  tif  tlu   Inpo,  ntn  ,il  In  -th.it      i\«    u-  from 

An  .It  conceit  of  our  egotism  U   ' 

i  (!« -plorvH  our  politics  and  lauds  our  business. 

Tills     l>     till-     Wail     ..f     • 

Now,  tit*    t\;  icrican  <  the  business 

I  !  luisincss  man  is  a  bad  citi/m  ;  I,.- 

l.s    IlllsV.         If    |l«-    is    ji    "   |)i^r    husinrss    HUlll   "    Illld    VlTV 

busy,  he  dot  -  .  lu-  is  busy  with  pol 

nh,  \  \   husinrvsliki'.      I  found  him 

Inning  boodlers  in  St.   L.mi  iin^  ^r..' 

in  Minneapolis,  ori^  <>n  in   Pitts 

Inir^.  ^  with  hosscs  in   I'liihidflphia,  drplor- 

ing  n-fnnn  in  Chir.i^o,  and  hmting  good  go\ 
ini-iit\\it:  tion  funds  in  New  York.     II 


,hteous  fraud,  this '{I  II 

(  is    tin-   chief   source   of   corrupt  ion, \and    it    \\crc   a 


boon  if  he  would  iir^lirt  politics.  Hut  he  is  not 
the  husiness  man  that  neglects  politics;  that 
worthy  is  the  good  citi/m,  t  d  business 

man.  II .  too  is  busy,  he  is  the  one  that  has  no  use 
and  th.nforc  no  time  for  politics.  When  his 
neglect  has  permitted  bad  government  to  go  so 


6        THE  SHA.Mi;  or  Tin:  CITIES 

far  that  he  can  be  stirred  to  action,  he  is  unhappy, 
and  he  looks  around  for  a  cure  that  shall  be 
quirk,  so  that  IK-  may  hurry  back  to  the  shop. 
Naturally,  too,  when  he  talks  politics,  he  talks 
shop.  His  patent  remedy  is  quack ;  it  is  business. 

"Give  us  a  business  man,"  he  says  ("  like  m« •," 
lu-  means).  "Let  him  introduce  business  methods 
into  politics  and  government  ;  then  I  .shall  he  left 
alone  to  attend  to  my  business." 

There  is  hardly  an  office  from  United  States 
Senator  down  to  Alderman  in  any  part  of  the 
country  to  which  the  business  man  has  not  been 
elected;  yet  politics  remains  corrupt,  government 
pretty  bad,  and  the  selfish  citizen  has  to  hold  him- 
<liness  like  the  old  volunteer  firemen  to 
rush  forth  at  any  hour,  in  any  weather,  to  prevent 
the  fire;  and  he  goes  out  sometimes  and  he  puts 
out  the  fire  (after  the  damage  is  done)  and  he 
goes  back  to  the  shop  sighing  for  the  business 
man  in  politics.  The  business  man  has  failed  in 
politics  as  he  has  in  citizenship.  Why? 

Because  politics  is  business.     That's  what's  the  ^ 
matter  with   it.      That's   what's    the   matter   with 
everything, — art,  literature,  religion,  journalism, 
law,  medicine, — they're  all  business,  and  all — as 
you  see  them.    Make  politics  a  sport,  as  they  do  in 
England,  or  a  profession,  as  thev  do  in  Germany,  ' 
and  we'll  have — well,  something  else  than  we  have 


I  M  INDUCTION  7 

now, — if  we  want  it,  nhid.  is  another  question. 
Hut  don't  try  tn  n-f.-rn.  potttMi  with  the  banker, 
tli«-  law  !  tin-  dry-good*  n  r  these 

arc  business  men   ami   th.  n    an-    two  great    h 
neei  t<>  t  icrcment  one  is  that 

,    hut    mi   better    than,    the 

politicians  .  is  n.,t  "  thi-ir 

re  are  exceptions  both  ways.     Many 
politicians  have  gone  out  into  business  and  done 
( Tammany  ex-mayors,  and  nearly  all  tin-  old 
bosses  of  Philadelphia  arc  j  it  financiers  in 

<•«),   and   bn  have   gone  into 

politics    ami    done    well    (Mark    Hanna,    for    ex- 
ample).     They    lia\»ii't    reformed    th.ir   adopted 
lea,    hnv.  hou^h    tliry    have    sometimes 

sharpened  tlu-m  most  pointedly.     The  politician  is  ' 
a  Imsinrss  man  with  a  sprrialt y.  ^\Vlu-n  a  hnsin«-ss 
man    of    some    other    line    learns    the    business    of 
politics,  he  is  a  politician,  and  there  is  not  much 
reform  left   in  him.      »  r   the   Tnited  States 

Senate,  and  believe  i 

The   commercial    spirit    is    the    spirit    of    profit, 

•  •  I  i»^^BM  -^— ^ 

not  patriotism;  nt  not  hon-  dividual  \ 

,  not  national  prosp  f  trade  and  d 

t-rin^,    not    principle.      "  My    business   is   sacred," 

says  the  hu-iness   man   in  his   heart.      "What. 

prospers  my  business,  is  good ;  it  must  be.    What- 
liinders  it,  is  wrong;  it  must  be.     A  bribe  if 


S  I  1IH  SHAM  I :  OF  TIM-:  (ITU'S 

had,  thai   i>,  it  is  a  im<l  tiling  to  take;  hut  it  is  not 
^^  so  had   to   «rivr  our,  not    if  it    is   necessary   to  my 

business."  "  Business  is  husincss  ""  is  not  a  politi- 
cal s.ntiment,  hut  our  politician  lias  caught  it. 
He  takes  essentially  the  same  view  of  the  bribe, 
only  he  saves  his  self-respect  by  piling  all  his 
contempt  upon  the  bribe-gnrer,  and  he  has  tin- 
great  advantage  of  candor.  "  It  is  wrong, 
maybe,"  he  says,  "but  if  a  rich  merchant  can 
afford  to  do  business  with  me  for  the  sake  of  a 
convenience  or  to  increase  his  already  ^, 
wealth,  I  can  afford,  for  the  sake  of  a  living,  to 
meet  him  half  way.  I  make  no  pretensions  to 
virtue,  not  even  on  Sunday."  And  as  for  giving 
bad  government  or  good,  how  about  the  merchant 
who  gives  bad  goods  or  good  goods,  according  to 
the  demand? 

^   But  there  is  hope,  not  alone  despair,  in  the  com- 
S£   /mercialism  of  our  politics.    If  our  political  leaden 

arc  to  he  always  a  lot  of  political  merchants,  they 
will  supply  any  demand  we  may  create.  All  we 
have  to  do  is  to  establish  a  steady  demand  for 
good  government.  The  boss  has  us  split  up 
into  parties.  To  him  parties  arc  nothing  but 
means  to  his  corrupt  ends.  He  "  bolts  "  his  party, 
but  we  must  not ;  the  bribe-giver  changes  his  party, 
from  one  election  to  another,  from  one  county 
to  another,  from  one  city  to  another,  but  the 


I  M  INDUCTION  '.) 

voter  mu*  Why?     Because  if  the 

honest  voter  cared  no  more  for  hi*  party  than  the 
dan  and  the  grafter,  then  tl..    honest  vote 
would  govern,  and  that  would  be  bad — for  graft. 
It  ih  ii  to  a  machine  that  is 

used  to  take  our  sovereignty   from  us.     If  we 
would  leave  parties  to  the  politicians,  and  would 
•'••I-  tin-  party,  not  even  for  men,  but  for 
UK!  the  -  d  the  nation,  HI   s|,«iul<l 

ml.   p.irti. -s,  and  cities,  and  States,  and  nation.    If 
we  would   vot  IBS  on   the  more   promising 

it  th.  two  arc  equally  bad,  would  throw 
out  tlu-  jmrty  that  is  in,  and  wait  till  tin-  ne\t  clcc- 
ind  tlun  throw  out  the  other  party  that  is 
in — then,  I  say,  tin-  commercial  politician  would 
feel  a  demand  for  good  government  and  he  would 
supply  it.  That  process  would  take  a  generation 
or  more  to  complete,  for  the  politicians  now  r» 
do  not  know  what  good  government  is.  But  it 
has  taken  as  long  to  develop  bad  government,  and 
the  politicians  know  what  that  is.  If  it  would 
not  "  go,"  they  would  offer  something  else,  and,  if 
the  demand  were  steady,  they,  being  so  commer- 

.   would  "deliver  tin-  goods." 
But    do    the   people    want    good    government? 

Tamil.  i:,\      -a\»     tl..  v     don't.        Arc     the     people 
honest?     Arc  the  people  hitt.r  than  Tamma 
An    th.\    h.tNr   th.m   the  merchant   and  the  poli- 


in        THK  SHAM1-:  <>F  THE  CITIES 
tician?      Isn't   our  corrupt   government,  after  all, 
representative? 

President  Uooscvdt  ha<  h,-. n  snr.nd  at  for 
going  about  the  country  pn •; idling,  as  a  cure  for 
our  American  evils,  good  conduct  in  tin-  indi- 
vidual, simple  honesty,  courage,  and  efficiency. 
M  Platitudes!"  the  sophisticated  say.  Platitudes- 
If  my  observations  have  been  true,  the  literal 
adoption  of  Mr.  Roosevelt's  reform  scheme  would 
result  in  a  revolution,  more  radical  and  terrible  to 
existing  institutions,  from  the  Congress  to  the 
Church,  from  the  bank  to  the  ward  organization, 
than  socialism  or  even  than  anarchy.  Why,  that 
would  change  all  of  us — not  alone  our  neighbors, 
not  alone  the  grafters,  but  you  and  me. 

No,  the  contemned  methods  of  our  d.  >j>i>«d  poli- 
tics are  the  master  methods  of  our  braggart  busi- 
ness, and  the  corruption  that  shocks  us  in  public 
affairs  we  practice  ourselves  in  our  private  con- 
cerns. There  is  no  essential  difference  between  the 
pull  that  gets  your  wife  into  society  or  a  favorable 
w  for  your  book,  and  that  which  gets  a 
heeler  into  office,  a  thief  out  of  jail,  and  a  rich 
man's  son  on  the  board  of  directors  of  a  curp»»ra 
tion;  none  between  the  corruption  of  a  labor 
union,  a  bank,  and  a  political  machine;  none  be- 
tween a  dummy  director  of  a  trust  and  the  cau- 
cus-bound member  of  a  legislature;  none  between 


i\  I  UMiircTION  11 

a  labor  boss  like  8am  Parks,  a  bon  of  bank*  like 

Her,  a  DOM  of  railroads  like  . I    i 
Morgan,  and  a  political   ho**  like  Matthew  8. 
Quay.    The  boss  ii  not  a  political,  he  is  an  Amen- 

And  HT§  all  a  moral  weakness;  a  weakness  right 
where  we  think  we  arc  strongest.  Oh,  we  are 
good— on  Sunday,  and  we  are  "  fearfully  pa- 
on  the  Fourth  of  July.  Hut  the  bribe  we 
pay  to  th.  janitor  to  prefer  our  interests  t< 
landlopers,  is  the  little  brotht  r  <>f  tin-  bribe  passed 
to  the  alderman  to  sell  a  city  street,  and  the  father 
of  the  air-brake  stock  assigned  to  the  president 
of  a  railroad  to  have  this  life-saving  invention 
adopted  on  his  road.  And  as  for  graft,  railroad 
passes,  saloon  and  bawdy-house  blackmail,  and 
watered  stock,  all  these  belong  to  the  same  family. 
We  are  pathetically  proud  of  our  democratic  in- 
.stitutions  and  our  n  publican  form  of  govcrni 
of  our  grand  Constitution  and  our  just  laws.  We 
are  a  free  and  sovereign  people,  we  govern  our- 
selves and  the  government  is  ours.  But  that  is  the 
point.  We  are  responsible,  not  our  leaders,  since 
we  follow  them.  We  let  them  divert  our  loyalty 
from  the  Tnited  States  to  some  "  party  ";  we  let 
them  boss  the  party  and  turn  our  mm  i  nioc- 

racies   into   autocracies   and   our   republican    na- 


12  THE  SHAMi:  or  Till.  CITIES 
tion  into  a  plutocracy.  We  cheat  our  government 
and  \\«  I*  t  our  leaders  loot  it,  and  we  let  tlum 
die  and  bribe  our  sovereignty  from  us.  True, 
they  pass  for  us  strict  laws,  but  we  are  content  to 
Irt  llniii  pass  also  bad  laws,  giving  away  public 
property  in  exchange;  and  our  good,  and  often 
impossible,  laws  we  allow  to  lx  UM  <1  t  Or  oppression 
and  blackmail.  And  what  can  we  say?  We 
break  our  own  laws  and  rob  our  own  government, 
tin-  lady  at  the  custom-house,  the  lyncher  with 
his  rope,  and  the  captain  of  industry  with  his 
bribe  and  his  rebate.  The  spirit  of  graft  and 
of  lawlessness  is  the  American  spirit. 

And  this  shall  not  be  said?  Not  plainly?  Wil- 
liam Travers  Jerome,  the  fearless  District  At- 
torney of  New  York,  says,  "  You  can  say  any- 
thing you  think  to  the  American  people.  If  you 
are  honest  with  yourself  you  may  be  honest  with 
them,  and  they  will  forgive  not  only  your  candor, 
but  your  mistakes."  This  is  the  opinion,  and  the 
experience  too,  of  an  honest  man  and  a  hopeful 
democrat.  Who  says  the  other  things?  Who 
says  "Hush,"  and  "What's  the  use?"  and 
"ALL'S  well,"  when  all  is  rotten?  It  is  the 
grafter;  the  coward,  too,  but  the  grafter  inspires 
the  coward.  The  doctrine  of  "  addition,  division, 
and  silence  "  is  the  doctrine  of  graft.  "  Don't 
hurt  the  party,"  "  Spare  the  fair  fame  of  the 


INTRODUCTION  IS 

,"  are  boodle  yells.    The  Fourth  of  July  ora- 

i^riift.      i  *  no  pa- 

tMBI    in    it,    hut     tnaxiin.       It     is    part    of    tin- 
game.     The  grafter*  call  for  rhn-rs  for  tin   flag, 

it  as  a  I 

wayman   commands   "  hanclji   up,"   and   while   we 

are  waving  and  Minuting,  they  float  the  flag  from 

nation  to  the  party,  turn  both  into  ^nift  fac- 

I,  and   proxj.  to  a  sp«  boom  to 

make  "  weak  hands,"  as  the  Wall  Street  phrase 

has  it,  hold  tin  \\at.ml  stock  while  the  strong 
hands  keep  the  prop*  Blame  us,  blame  any- 

body, but  praise  the  poo;  ^  the  politician's 

advice,  is  not  the  counsel  of  respect  for  the  people, 
hut  of  contt-n.|>t.  By  just  such  palavering  a* 
courtiers  play  upon  the  degenerate  int. ll.cts  of 
weak  kings,  the  bosses,  political,  financial,  and  in- 
dustrial, arc  befuddling  and  befooling  our  sov- 
ereign American  :ip;  and —likewise — they 
are  corrupting  it. 

•  i  it  is  corrupt ihlr,  this  riti/mxhip.  "  I  know 
what  Parks  is  doing,"  said  a  New  York  union 
workman,  "  but  what  do  I  care.  He  has  raised 
my  wages.  Let  him  have  his  graft!"  I  the 

Philadelphia      merchant      says     the     same     tiling: 

leaders  may  be  getting  more  than 

they  should  out  of  the  city,  but  that  doesn't  hurt 

me.    It  may  raise  taxes  a  little,  but  I  can  stand 


14         II  IK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

.  Tin-  partv  keeps  up  the  protective  tariff. 
If  tlwt  u.i.  cut  down,  my  business  would  ho 
ruined.  So  long  a-  the  party  stands  pat  on  that,  I 
stand  pat  on  the  party." 

The  people  are  not  innocent.  That  is  the  only 
^**  news "  in  all  the  journalism  of  these  articles, 
and  no  doubt  that  was  not  new  to  many  observers. 
It  was  to  me.  When  I  set  out  to  describe  the  ror- 
rupfljyslems  of  certain  typical  citic*,  I  meant  to 
show  simply  how  the  people  w.re  dm-m-d  and  be- 
trayed. But  in  the  very  first  study — St.  Louis — 
the  startling  truth  lay  bare  that  corruption  was 
not  merely  political;  it  was  financial,  commercial, 
social;  the  ramifications  of  boodle  were  so  complex, 
various,  and  far-reaching,  that  one  mind  could 
hardly  grasp  them,  and  not  even  Joseph  W.  Folk, 
the  tireless  prosecutor,  could  follow  them  all.  This 
state  of  things  was  indicated  in  the  first  article 
which  Claude  H.  Wetmore  and  I  compiled  to- 
gether, but  it  was  not  shown  plainly  enough.  Mr. 
Wetmore  lived  in  St.  Louis,  and  he  had  r  -pect 
for  names  which  meant  little  to  me.  But  when  I 
went  next  to  Minneapolis  alone,  I  could  see  more 
independently,  without  respect  for  persons,  and 
there  were  traces  of  the  same  phenomenon.  The 
first  St.  Louis  article  was  called  "  Tw. .  d  DM  v-  in 
St.  Louis,"  and  though  the  "better  citizen"  re- 
ceived attention  the  Tweeds  were  the  center  of 


INTRODUCTION  15 

att     In  "The  Shame  of  fttuuiejLpolis,"  the 
truth  was  put  into  the-  title;  it  was  the  Shame 
of  Minneapolis;  not  of  the  Ames  adminutm 
Tweeds,  but  of  the  city  and  it 
lima.    Ami  N.t  Minneapolis  was  not  nearly  so  bad 
as  8t.  Louis;  police  graft  is  never  so  universal 
as  boodle.     It  is  more  nho«  king,  hut  it  is  so  filthy 
that  >t  involve  so  large  a  part  of  so* 

So  I  returned  to  St.  Louis,  and  I  went  over  tin- 
whole  ground  again,  u.th  the  people  in  mind,  not 
alone  the  caught  ai  !  boodlers.  And 

tinu    td.    true  meaning  of  "  Tweed  days  in 

Ixmis"   was   made   plain.      The   article   was 
calh .  Shamelessness  of  St.  I  and  that 

was  tin-  Imrdrn  of  the  story.  In  I'ittsburfl^also 
tin-  |>eople  was  the  suhjrct,  and  though  tin-  ci\ic 

'   there  was  b«-tt.    .  \tent  of  the  corrup- 

tion   throughout   the   social   org  .  :i    of   the 

community  was  i  !.      Rut  it  was  n9^  till  I 

got  to  IMul.'i(lrl]>hia  that  thr  possihJliti.-s  of  popu- 
lar corruption  wm-  work. d  out  to  the  limit  of 

the  place* for 

such   a   stud'  re  is   nothing  lik<-   it    in   the 

country,  »  \cept  possihly,  in  Cincinnati.  Phila- 
(K-lphia  certainly  is  not  merely  corrupt,  but  cor- 
rupted, and  this  was  made  <  1<  ar.  Philadelphia  was 
charged  up  to — the  American  citi/.-n. 

It  was  impo»ihlf  in  the  space  of  a  magazine  ar- 


16       Tin:  sn  AMI:  or  Tin:  UTIKS 

tide  to  OOVer  in  any  one  city  all  tin-  phases  of  mu- 
nicipal gov«  rmuent,  so  I  chose  cities  that  typified 
most  strikingly  some  particular  phase  or  phases. 
Thus  as  St.  Louis  exemplified  bowlle  :  Minneapolis, 
police  graft  ;  Pittslmrg,  a  political  and  industrial 
machine;  and  Philadelphia,  general  civic  corrup- 
tion ;  so  Chicago  was  an  illustration  of  reform,  and 
New  York  of  good  government.  All  these  things 
occur  in  most  of  these  places.  There  nre,  and 
long  have  been,  reformers  in  St.  Louis,  and  there 
is  to-day  police  graft  there.  Minneapolis  has 
had  boodling  and  council  reform,  and  boodling  is 
breaking  out  there  again.  Pittsburg  has  gen- 
eral corruption,  and  Philadelphia  a  very  perfect 
political  machine.  Chicago  has  police  graft  and 
a  low  order  of  administrative  and  general  corrup- 
tion which  permeates  business,  labor,  and  society 
generally.  As  for  New  York,  the  metropolis 
might  exemplify  almost  anything  that  occurs  any- 
where in  American  cities,  but  no  city  has  had  for 
many  years  such  a  good  administration  as  was 
that  of  Mayor  Seth  Low. 

That  which  I  have  made  each  city  stand  for,  is 
that  which  it  had  most  highly  developed.  It 
would  be  absurd  to  seek  for  organized  reform 
in  St.  Louis,  for  example,  with  Chicago  next  door ; 
or  for  graft  in  Chicago  with  Minneapolis  so  near. 
After  Minneapolis,  a  description  of  admini*trativc 


I NTRODUCTION  IT 

corruption  m  Chicago  would  have  teemed  like  a 
repetition.     Perhaps  it  was  not  juit  to  treat 
the  conspicuous  element  in  each  situation.     But 
why  should  I  be  just?     I  was  not  judging;  I  arro- 
gated to  myself  no  such   function.      I   was  not 

tig  about  Chicago  for  Chicago,  but  for 
other  cities,  so  I  picked  out  what  light  each  had 
•!i«-  instruction  of  the  others.     But,  if  I  was 
•  compl. '      I       vcr  exaggerated.  .Every  one 

of  tl.o  -    urtlcT.  .  uas    in  •:'    !    r  '  ,t,  :,,„»,  rsp,.ri:illy 

ish  other  cities,  it  disappointed  the  city  which  was 
its  subject  Thus  my  friends  in  Philadelphia, 

knew  what  there  was  to  know,  and  those  espe- 
cial ly  who  knew  what  I  knew,  expressed  surprise 
that  I  •••(!  so  little.  And  one  St.  Louis  newt- 

paper  said  that  "  the  facts  were  thrown  at  me  and 
I  fell  down  over  them."  There  was  truth  in  these 
flings.  I  cut  twenty  thousand  words  out  of  the 
lMiil;uM|)!)i:i  article  and  v«t  I  had  not  half 

Ida,     I  know  a  man  who  is  making  a  history 

he   corrupt   construction   of   the    IMiilad. Iphia 

Hull,  in  thnr  volumes,  and  lie  grieves  because 

he  lacks  spare.      You  can't    put   all  the  known   inci- 

I  of  the  corruption  of  an  American  city  into 
a  book. 

This  is  all  very  unscientific,  hut  then,  I  am  not 


18        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

a  scientist.  I  am  a  journalist.  I  did  not  gather 
with  indifference  all  the  facts  and  arrange  them 
patiently  for  permanent  preservation  and  labora- 

«tory  analysis.  I  did  not  want  to  preserve.  [ 
wanted  to  destroy  the  facts.  My  purpose  was  no 
more  scientific  than  the  spirit  of  my  investigation 
and  reports ;  it  was,  as  I  said  above,  to  see  if  the 
shameful  facts,  spread  out  in  all  their  shame, 
would  not  burn  through  our  civic  shamelessncss 
and  set  fire  to  American  pride.  That  was  the 
journalism  of  it.  I  wanted  to  move  and  to  con- 
vince. That  is  why  I  was  not  interested  in  all 
the  facts,  sought  none  that  was  new,  and  rejected 
half  those  that  were  old.  I  often  was  asked  to 
expose  something  suspected.  I  couldn't ;  and  why 
should  I?  Exposure  of  the  unknown  was  not  my 
purpose.  The  people:  what  they  will  put  up 
with,  how  they  are  fooled,  how  cheaply  they  are 
bought,  how  dearly  sold,  how  easily  intimidated, 
and  how  led,  for  good  or  for  evil — that  was  the 
inquiry,  and  so  the  significant  facts  were  those' 

(  only  which  everybody  in  each  city  knew,  and  of 
these,  only  those  which  everybody  in  every  other 

'  town  would  recognize,  from  their  common  knowl- 
edge of  such  things,  to  be  probable.  But  these, 
understated,  were  charged  always  to  the  guilty 
persons  when  individuals  were  to  blame,  and  finally 
brought  home  to  the  people  themselves,  who,  hav- 


!\  I  IvMDI  ,    I  ION  1'J 

tli.-  pnu«  r,  have  also  the  responsibil 
an. I  those  they  respect,  und  thoM-  tlmt  guide  them. 
as  against  all  tin-  warnings  and  rules  of 
dWiflsTfrsTy*     What  was  the  result? 

\plored  and  ex- 
posed,  with  t  •'ondliiif'  (if  St.  Ixwis, 

«>n.    "Tweed  Days  i 

1        s  M  is  said  to  hnv«    fun  mil  some  public  ft 
inent   against   the  boodlcr-,   hut    the   local   new*- 
papers  had  more  to  do  with  that  than  Met' I 
Magaziti  ir    Minneapolis    gr.i 

had  exposed  and  the  cour  the  com- 

mon juries  had  <  I  tin-  ^r.ift. TS  th«-re,  an 

showed  that  puhlic  opinion  was  formed. 
Hut  that  one  tWtion  was  regarded  as  final.    V 
I  went  tlu-rr  tin-  men  who  had  !••<!  tin  reform  n 
mi-lit  all  thnui^li  had  read 

tin-  "  Sham,   of  Minneapolis,"  however,  they  went 
back  to  work,  and  they  have  perfected  a  plan  to 
keep   tin    citi/ms    infoiiin.1   and   to  continue  the 
fight  for  good  govt  rniiitnt.      They  saw,  these  un 
ninhit  ions,  busy  citizens,  that  it  was  "  up  to  t ' 
and   thry    rvsumrd   tin-   unwelconx  of   tln-ir 

M>hi|i.      Of  resentnu-nt   th.re  was  very   littlr. 
iiu-ftin^  of  l.-adin^  citi/m*  tlicn-  wrn-  lionqst 
speeches  suggesting  that  something  should  be  said 
to  "  clear  the  name  of  Minn,  apolis,"  hut  one  man 
TOM  and  said  very  pleasantly,  hut  firmly,  that  the 


L>()         II  IK  SHAME  OF  Till.  CITIES 

article  was  true;  it    was  pn-tty  hard  on  tlu-in,  but 
it  was  true  and  they  all  kne\\  it.      That  ended  that. 

When  I  returned  to  St.  Louis  and  rewrote  tin 
facts,  and,  in  rewriting,  inadr  them  just  as  insult 
ing  as  the  truth  would  permit,  my  friends  there 
expressed  dismay  OUT  the  manuscript.  The 
article  would  hurt  Mr.  Folk:  it  \\ould  hurt  the 
cause;  it  would  arouse  popular  wrath. 

44  That  was  what  I  hoped  it  would  do,"  I  said. 

"But  the  indignation  would  break  upon  Folk 
and  reform,  not  on  the  boodlcrs,"  they  said. 

"  Wasn't  it  obvious,"  I  asked,  "  that  this  very 
title,  '  ShamelesMiess/  was  aimed  at  pride;  that 
it  implied  a  faith  that  there  was  self-respect  to 
be  touched  and  shame  to  be  moved  ?  " 

That  was  too  subtle.  So  I  answered  that  if 
they  had  no  faith  in  the  town,  I  had,  and  anyway, 
if  I  was  wrong  and  the  people  should  resent,  not 
the  crime,  but  the  exposure  of  it,  then  they  would 
punish,  not  Mr.  Folk,  who  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  article,  but  the  magazine  and  me.  NY\\  ^paper 
men  warned  me  that  they  would  not  "  stand  for  " 
the  article,  but  would  attack  it.  I  answered  that 
I  would  let  the  St.  Louisans  deride  between  us.  It 
was  true,  it  was  just;  the  people  of  St.  Louis  had 
shown  no  shame.  Here  was  a  good  chance  to  see 
whether  they  had  any.  I  was  a  fool,  they  said. 

"All  right,"  I  replied     "All  kings  had  fools  in 


ivnmnn  i  [ON  21 

the  olden  days,  an«l  th.   f«.,,l>  ».  r.   allowed  to  1. 11 

th,    truth.      1    u.-uM    piny   the  fool  to  the 

p«,pl,    ." 

Tin-  iff  lihf«l,  liencws- 

paperii;  t 

Folk  hims.lf  Hpoke  up  for  tl  Leading 

.used  m«  a  man  meet  "  set 

tin-  uorl«i."     Tin-  nuivor  of 
t  v,  a  most  lAci-llcnt   111:111,  who  had  luljMil 
denouii*.  (I    tin-    art  id-  I          l)oo<llr    party    plat- 

form -r  vote*  on   tin-  >tn-n«tli  of 

b    in   "  l'..i^'  rn   maga/i  Tlu-    p- 

themselves  cot:  <1  me;  aft«r  the  puhlic.r 

two    liinnlr«-«l    thoii^aiul    huttons    i         "  l'«)lk    and 
Reform  "  urrc  worn  on  the  streets  of  St.  L<> 

Hut  thosr  huttons  were  for  M  F«.lk  and  Krform." 

!  did  go  to  provr  that  tin-  article  was  wrong, 

I  was  pridr  in  St.  Loui-,  hut  .>ved 

also    that     that     pridr    had    UH-M    touched.      Up    to 

that  timr  nol»n.l\   kiu-u  <  \artly  how  St.  Louis  felt 

about    it    all.      Tin  r.     1....I    !.-  'ion,   aii- 

;,  and  the  hoodlers,  caught  <• 
be   caught,    pen    in    control.       1 
made    no    movr    to    dislod^,.    them.      Mr.     Folk's 
did  labors  were  a  sp.  ithout  a  chorus, 

and,  though  I  had  rnrt  mm  who  told  me  the  people 

with    Folk,    I    had    mot    also    the   graf' 
who  cursed  only  Folk  an>  .uilding  all  tlu-ir 


11  IK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

hopes  on  the  assumption  that  "after  Folk's 
term"  all  would  be  well  again.  Between  these 
two  local  views  no  outsider  could  choose.  How 
could  I  read  a  strange  people's  hearts?  I  took 

tlie  outside  \ie\v,  stated  the  facts  hnth  ways, — the 
right  verdicts  of  the  juries  and  the  confident  plans 
of  the  hoodlers, — and  the  n-Milt  was,  indeed,  a 
shameless  state  of  affairs  for  which  St.  Louis,  the 
people  of  St.  Louis,  were  to  blame. 

And  they  saw  it  so,  both  in  the  city  and 
in  the  State,  and  they  ceased  to  be  specta- 
tors. That  article  simply  got  down  to  the  s,-lf- 
respect  of  this  people.  And  who  was  hurt?  Not 
St.  Louis.  From  that  moment  the  city  has  been 
determined  and  active,  and  boodle  stems  to  he 
doomed.  Not  Mr.  Folk.  After  that,  hN  nomination 
for  Governor  of  the  State  was  (Iceland  for  h\  tin- 
people,  who  formed  Folk  clubs  all  over  the  State  to 
force  him  upon  his  party  and  theirs,  and  thus  in- 
sure the  pursuit  of  the  boodlers  in  St.  Louis  and 
in  Missouri  too.  Nor  was  the  maga/ine  hurt,  or 
myself.  The  next  time  I  went  to  St.  Louis,  t In- 
very  men  who  had  raised  money  for  the  mass  meet- 
ing to  denounce  the  article  went  out  of  their  way 
to  say  to  me  that  I  had  been  right,  the  article 
was  true,  and  they  a.sked  me  to  "do  it  again." 
And  there  may  be  a  chance  to  do  it  again.  Mr. 
Folk  lifted  the  lid  off  Missouri  for  a  moment  after 


i\  i  I;M|,I  ,  i  ION  *i 

i  the  St.it.-  also  appeared  ripe  for  the 

^athcriiitf.      Moreo\er,  tin-  hoodlers  of  State  ami 

nod  to  l><  i-.ople  ami  keep  them 

down        I  isivc  election  is  not   till  the-  fall 

ti>«  boodtart  count  much  on  the  fi 

new  of   puhlic   opinion.       Hut    I    1  hat    lib- 

sour  Louis  together  will  pr..\.   then,  once 

for  all,  t  people  can  ruk- — when  they  arc 

IMtxhurtf    article   had    no   effect    in    I1 
hurtf,  nor  had  that  on  Philadelphia  any  results  in 
Philadelphia.    Nor  wa*  anj  «  I 

,  as  I  saiii  in  tin-  art  !«•!«•,  knew  itsrlf,  and  may 
pull  out    of  its  disgrace,  hut    Philadelphia   is  r«,n 
tented  and  seems  hopeless.     Th«-  accounts  of  them, 
however,  and    indnd,   as    I    luivc  said,   all    in   the 
aeries,  w«  •  tlu    titles  described, 

but  for  all  our  rit !•••.;  ami  the  most  immediate  re- 
sponses came  not  from  places  described,  but  from 
otluni  where  similar  evils  existed  or  similar  action 
was  n«  •  d.  d.  Thus  Chicago,  intent  on  its  troubles; 

d  useless  to  it  the  study  »>f  its  reform,  which 
seems    to    have    been    suggt-  and 

Philadelphia,     "Corrupt      and      <  Was 

•i  home  in  othi  r  cities  and  seems  to  have  made 
most  lasting  impression  everywhere. 
But  of  m^ihle  results  are  few.    The 

real  triumph  of  the  year's  work  was  the  complete 


24       Tin:  SIIA.MI:  OF  Tin;  crni.s 

demount  ration  it  has  ^,i\.n.  in  a  thousand  little 
ways,  that  our  shamelessness  is  superficial.  Hiat 
beneath  it  lies  a  pride  \\hich,  bein<;-  real,  may  save 
us  yet.  And  it  is  real.  The  grafters  who  -aid 
you  may  put  the  blame  anyu  hen-  hut  on  the  pen 
pie,  where  it  belongs,  and  that  Americans  can  he 
moved  only  by  flattery, — they  lied.  They  lied 
about  themselves.  They,  too,  arc  American  <iti 
zcns;  they  too,  are  of  the  people;  and  some  of 
them  also  were  reached  by  shame.  The  ^ 
truth  I  tried  to  make  plain  was  that  which  Mr. 
Folk  insists  so  constantly  upon:  that  bribery  is 
no  ordinary  felony,  but  treason,  that  tin  "  cor 
nipt  ion  which  breaks  out  here  and  there  and  now 
and  then "  is  not  an  occasional  offense,  but  a 
common  practice,  and  that  the  effect  of  it  is  lit- 
erally to  change  the  form  of  our  government 
from  one  that  is  representative  of  the  people  to 
an  oligarchy,  representative  of  special  interests. 
Some  politicians  have  seen  that  this  is  so,  and  it 
bothers  them.  I  think  I  prize  more  highly  than 
any  other  of  my  experiences  the  half-dozen  times 
when  grafting  politicians  I  had  "  roasted,"  as 
they  put  it,  called  on  me  afterwards  to  say,  in 
the  words  of  one  who  spoke  with  a  wonderful 
solemnity : 

"  You  are  right.     I  never  thought  of  it  that 
way,  but  it's  right.     I  don't  know  whether  you 


l\  I  INDUCTION 

can  do  anything,  but    \  -htf  dead  ri^M. 

And    I'.,  \\     '  .  I 

d.Mi't  see  how  we  can  stop  it  now;  I  don't  sec  how 
I  can  change.     I  can't,  I  guess.     Nov  I  can't . 
now.     But,  nay,  I  may  be  able  to  h.lp  \<>n. 

I  will  if  I  can.       YIMI  can  I 

So  you  see,  they  are  not  such  had  fellows,  these 

'     politicians.       I     «Mi     I    could    ti-11    more 

about   thrin  :  how   tli.  helped  me;  how  can- 

.  and  un.scltishl  v  '  ••  assisted  me  to  facts 

and    an    understanding   of   tl  ch,   as   I 

warned  them,  as  they  km-\\   wi-11,  were  to  be  used 

ist   thrm.     If  I  could — and  I  will  some  day 

— I  should  show  that  one  of  the  surest  hopes  we 

have  is  tin-  politician  hints.  If.     Ask  him  for  good 

politics;  punish  )iim  \vlu-n  In- gives  bad.  ward 

him  win  i  s  good;  make  politics  pay.     Now, 

hf  savs,  you  don't  knou  and  \  on  don't  car*,  and 
that  YOU  must  he  tl.i4  I  and  t 

I  say,  he  is  uron^.  I  did  not  flatter  anybody; 
I  told  tin  truth  as  near  as  I  could  get  it, 
and  instead  of  resentment  there  was  encourage- 
nun'  The  Shame  of  Minneapn 

"  The  Shamclessness  of  St.  Louis,"  not  »>nl  <- 

ies   approve,    hu  is   of 

other   cities,    individuals,   groups,   and   orga' 
tions,  sent    in   invitations,  hundreds  of  them. 
come  and  show  us  up ;  we're  worse  than  they  arc." 


!2(i         llli:  SHAME  OF  THE  CITI1  > 

We  Americans  may  have  failed.  We  may  be 
enary  and  selfish.  Democracy  with  us  may 
be  impossible  and  corruption  inevitable,  but  these 
articles,  if  they  have  proved  nothing  else,  have 
demonstrated  beyond  doubt  that  we  can  stand  the 
truth;  that  there  is  pride  in  the  character  of 
American  citizenship;  and  that  this  pride  may  be 
a  power  in  the  land.  So  this  little  volume,  a 
record  of  shame  and  yet  of  self-respect,  a  dis- 
graceful confession,  yet  a  declaration  of  honor, 
is  dedicated,  in  all  good  faith,  to  the  accused 
to  all  the  citizens  of  all  the  cities  in  the  United 
States. 

NEW  YORK,  December,  1903. 


I  \\  1.1.1)    \)\\  S    1\  .1 


TWKKI)  DAYS   IN   ST.   I.Ol'IS 

(October.  1902) 

IAUTIS,  the  fourth  dtv  in  size  in  the  I'r 
States,  is  making  two  announcement*  to  the  world : 
on.-  that  it  N  tin-  worst-govcr  Und; 

t  it  wishes  nil  mm  to  come  then 

It  i.n't  our  worst- 
governed    ritv;     Philadelphia    is    that. 
Louis  is  worth  examining  while  we  have  it  inside 

out. 

There  is  a  man  at  work  there,  one  man,  work- 
ing all  alone,  hut    he   is   the   Cn 
State)   Attorney,  and  he  is  "  doing  his  duty.'9 
Th .it  is  what  thousands  of  district  attorneys  and 
:    piih lie   officials   have   promised   to   do   and 
boasted  of  doing.     This  man  has  a  literal  sort  of 
mind.      li.     is    A    thin-lipped,   firm-mouthed,   dark 
little  man,  who  never  raises  his  voice,  but  goes 
d  doing,  with  a  smiling  eye  and  a  set  jaw, 
-imple    thing    he    said    he    would    do.      The 
«»  and  reputable  citizens  who  asked  him 
to  run  urged  him  when  he  d«  i -lined.     When  he  said 
d  he  would  have  to  do  his  duty,  they 
said,  '*  Of  course."     So  he  ran,  they  supported 


.SO        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

him,  and  he  was  elected.  Now  some  of  these  poli- 
ticians arc  sentenced  to  the  pcniti -ntiary,  sonic  an 
in  Mexico.  The  Circuit  Attorney,  finding  that  his 
"  dut  v  "  was  to  catch  and  convict  criminal*,  and 
that  the  biggest  criminals  were  some  of  thex- 
same  politicians  and  leading  citi/ens,  went  after 
them.  It  is  magnificent,  but  the  politicians  do- 
rian- it  isn't  politics. 

The  corruption  of  St.  Louis  came  from  the  top. 
The  best  citizens — the  merchants  and  big  finan- 
ciers— used  to  rule  the  town,  and  they  ruled  it 
wdl.  They  set  out  to  outstrip  Chicago.  The 
commercial  and  industrial  war  between  tin ^e  two 
cities  was  at  one  time  a  picturesque  and  dramatic 
spectacle  such  as  is  witnessed  only  in  our  country. 
Business  men  were  not  mere  merchants  and  tin- 
politicians  were  not  mere  grafters;  the  two  kinds 
of  citizens  got  together  and  wielded  tin-  power  of 
banks,  railroads,  factories,  the  prestige  of  the 
city,  and  the  spirit  of  its  citizens  to  gain  busings 
and  population.  And  it  was  a  close  race.  Chi- 
cago, having  the  start,  always  led,  but  St.  Louis 
had  pluck,  intelligence,  and  tremendous  energy. 
It  pressed  Chicago  hard.  It  excelled  in  a  sense 
of  civic  beauty  and  good  government;  and  there 
are  those  who  think  yet  it  mi^ht  have  won.  Hut 
a  change  occurred.  Public  .spirit  became  private 
spirit,  public  enterprise  became  private  greed. 


1  \\  I   ID    DAYS    l\    -  I  :il 

Along  about  1890,  public  franchm«*  and  |>i 
leges  were  sought,  i,..t   ,,<A\   i.,r  I.  -  profit 

and   common    coimni.no-,    hut    for    loot.      Tilling 
(I  always  selfish  interest  in  the  public 
count -jK,  tin-  hi^r  I'"-"  misused  politics.     The  riff- 
raff, rat  filing  the  smell  of  corruption,  rushed  into 
1   AlMnbly 9  dbOfft  OOi   tin-  remaining 
respectable  i;  :  M>ld  tin-  city — its  streets,  its 

wharves,  its  markets,  and  all  that  it  had — to  the 
now  greedy  business  men  and  hrilx  rs.     In  other 

words,  when  thr  leading  nun  he^an  to  devour 
own  citv,  tin-  lu-rd  rushed  into  tin    trough  and  fed 

also. 

So  gradually  has  this  occurred  that  these  tame 
us  hardly   n.ili/i    it.     (io  t      ft     Louis  and 
you  will  find  the  habit  of  d«  in  them  ;  they 

still  boast.     The  visitor  is  told  of  the  wealth  of 
I,    of   the   financial    strength   of    the 
banks,  and  of  the  growing  importance  of  tl 
dust  i  he  sees  poorlv  j>  foM  hunlened 

tt,  and  dusty  or  mud  covered  alleys;  he  passes 
i.sliaekle  lire  trap  crowded  with  the  sick,  and 
learns  that  it  is  the  City  Hospital;  h<    •  nt.  rs  the 
r  Com  I  his  nostrils  are  greeted  by 

of  formaldehyde  used  AS  A  disinfectant, 
ami  insect  powder  spread  to  destroy  vermin;  he 
calls  at  the  new  City  Hall,  and  finds  half  the  en- 
trance boarded  with  pmc  planks  to  cover  up  the 


32        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

unfinished  interior.  Finally,  he  turns  a  tap  in  the 
hotel,  to  see  liquid  mud  flow  into  wash-basin  or 
bath-tub. 

The  St.  Louis  charter  vests  legislative  power  of 
great  scope  in  a  Municipal  Assembly,  which  is 
composed  of  a  council  and  a  House  of  Delegates. 
Here  is  a  description  of  the  latter  by  one  of  Mr. 
Folk's  grand  juries: 

"  We  have  had  before  us  many  of  those  who 
have  been,  and  most  of  those  who  are  now,  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Delegates.  We  found  a 
number  of  these  utterly  illiterate  and  lacking  in 
ordinary  intelligence,  unable  to  give  a  Ixttcr 
reason  for  favoring  or  opposing  a  measure  than 
a  desire  to  act  with  the  majority.  In  some,  no 
trace  of  mentality  or  morality  could  be  found; 
in  others,  a  low  order  of  training  appeared,  united 
with  base  cunning,  groveling  instincts,  and  sordid 
desires.  Unqualified  to  respond  to  the  ordinary 
requirements  of  life,  they  are  utterly  incapable 
of  comprehending  the  significance  of  an  ordinatu  «  , 
and  are  incapacitated,  both  by  nature  and  train- 
ing, to  be  the  makers  of  laws.  The  choosing  of 
such  men  to  be  legislators  makes  a  travesty  of 
justice,  sets  a  premium  on  incompetency,  and 
deliberately  poisons  the  very  source  of  the 
law." 

These  creatures  were  well  organized.    They  had 


I  \\  I   I   1)    D\VS  IN  ST.   LOUIS  *i 

a  "combine** — a    kgUfttta    institution — which 
tin-  ^r.ind  jury  described  as  follows: 

"  Our  in \eatigation,  covering  more  or  less  fully 
a  period  of  ten  years,  shows  that,  with  few  excep- 
tions, no  ordinance  hn*  been  passed  wherein  val- 
uable privileges  or  franchises  are  granted  until 
those  interested  have  paid  the  legislator*  tin- 
money  demanded  for  act  inn  in  tin-  jn  case. 
-.  in  both  branches  of  the  Municipal  As- 
sembly are  formed  by  members  sufficient  in  number 
to  control  legislation.  To  one  member  of  this 
comhinr  IN  <!«  1« ^.itrd  tin-  authority  to  act  for  the 
I  to  receive  and  to  distribute  to  each 
member  tin-  money  agreed  upon  an  the  price  of  his 
in  support  of,  or  opposition  to,  a  pending 
measure.  So  long  has  this  practice  existed  that 
such  members  have  come  to  regard  the  receipt  of 
money  for  action  on  pending  measures  as  a  legiti- 
mate perquisite  of  a  legislaf 

One  legislator  consulted  a  lawyer  with  the  in 
tuition  of  suing  a  firm  to  recover  an  unpaid  bal- 
ance on  a  fee  for  the  grant  of  a  switch-way, 
difficulties  rarely  occurred,  howev.r.  In 
order  to  insure  a  regular  and  indisputable  revenue, 
the  combine  of  each  house  drew  up  a  schedule  of 
bribery  prices  for  all  possible  sorts  of  grants,  just 
such  a  list  as  a  conum  T  takes  out  on 

the  road  \v  it h  him.     Tiurc  was  a  price  for  a  grain 


:U  THE  SHAME  OF  TH1  (HIES 
elevator,  a  price  for  a  short  switch  ;  side  tracks 
were  charged  for  l>\  tin-  linear  foot,  but  at  rates 
\shich  varied  according  to  tin-  nature  of  the 
ground  taken;  a  street  improv.  m<  nt  cost  so  much  ; 
wharf  space  was  classified  and  precisely  rated.  As 
tli.  re  was  a  scale  for  favorable  legislation,  so 
there  was  one  for  defeating  bills.  It  made  a  dif- 
ference in  the  price  if  there  was  opposition,  and  it 
made  a  difference  whether  the  privilege  asked  was 
legitimate  or  not.  But  nothing  was  passed  free 
of  charge.  Many  of  the  legislators  were  saloon- 
keepers— it  was  in  St.  Louis  that  a  practical  joker 
nearly  emptied  the  House  of  Delegates  by  tipping 
a  boy  to  rush  into  a  session  and  call  out,  "  Mister, 
your  saloon  is  on  fire," — but  even  the  saloon- 
keepers of  a  neighborhood  had  to  pay  to  keep  in 
their  inconvenient  locality  a  market  which  public 
interest  would  have  moved. 

From  the  Assembly,  bribery  spread  into  other 
departments.  Men  empowered  to  issue  peddlers' 
licenses  and  permits  to  citizens  who  wished  to  erect 
awnings  or  use  a  portion  of  the  sidewalk  for  stor- 
age purposes  charged  an  amount  in  excess  of  the 
prices  stipulated  by  law,  and  pocketed  the  differ- 
ence. The  city's  money  was  loaned  at  interest, 
and  the  interest  was  converted  into  private  bank 
accounts.  City  carriages  were  used  by  the  wives 
and  children  of  city  officials.  Supplies  for  public 


TWKK1)   DAN  S   IN    S'J      LOUS  :r> 

found  th.  ir  way  to  private  table*;  one 
ized  account  of  food  funiUhed  the  poorhouie 
indud.  d  <  I-  Hi-  -,  imported  cheeses,  and 

French  wines!    A  memtx  i  Assembly  caused 

ii  of  a  grocery  company,  with  his 

Mill*      iilld      daughters      th.-      nst,   I, Mill. •       st.M  kh-.Id.   fs, 

and  succeeded  in  having  his  i 
accept <•(!  although  the  figures  were  in  excess  of  hit 
competitor*'.     In  n-turn  for  th,    favor  thus  shown, 
idorsed  a  measure  to  award  the  contract  for 
tiii^  to  another  member,  and  these  two 
1  aye  on  a  bill  granting  to  a  third  the  ex- 
clusive  right    to    fiim Mi    i-ity    dispensaries   with 
drugs. 

Men  ran  into  deljt  to  the  extent  of  thousands  of 
dollars  for  the  sake  of  <  1«  ti<>n  to  ,-ither  branch  of 
the  AsseinMv.  ()iu-  ni^ht,  on  a  street  <  fig  to 

thr  (  II  ill,  a  lu-w  member  remarked  that  tin- 
nii-krl  he  handnl  th.  conductor  was  his  last.  The 
IH -\t  d.-iv  lu  deposited  $5,000  in  a  savings  bank. 
A  in.  ml  HI-  of  tin  House  of  Delegates  adm 
to  thr  (ir.ind  .lurv  that  his  dividends  from  the 
i><  in  tted  $25,000  in  one  year;  a  Council- 
man stated  tint  he  was  paid  $50,000  for  his  vote 
on  a  single  measure. 

Bribery  was  a  joke.      A   newspaper  reporter 
o\<  rhrard  this  COIIM  rsation  one  evening  in  the  cor- 
r  of  the  (  its    Hall: 


36        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

"Ah  th<n,  my  boodler!"  said  Mr.  Dele- 
gate. 

"Stay  there,  my  grafter!"  replied  Mr.  Coun- 
cilman. "  Can  you  lend  me  a  hundred  for  a  day 
or  two?" 

"Not  at  present.  But  I  can  spare  it  if  the 
Z —  hill  goes  through  to-night.  Meet  me  at 
p '8  later." 

"All  right,  my  jailbird;  Til  l><  th.  , 

The  blackest  years  wnv  1S<)S,  ls<}<),  and  1  <)<)<). 
Foreign  corporations  came  into  tin  city  to  share 
in  its  despoliation,  and  home  industries  were 
driven  out  by  blackmail.  Franchises  worth  mil- 
lions were  granted  without  one  cent  of  cash  to  the 
city,  and  with  provision  for  only  the  smallest  fu- 
ture payment;  several  companies  which  refused 
to  pay  blackmail  had  to  leave;  citizens  were  robbed 
more  and  more  boldly;  pay-rolls  were  padded  with 
the  names  of  non-existent  persons;  work  on  public 
improvements  was  neglected,  while  money  for  them 
went  to  the  boodlers. 

Some  of  the  newspapers  protested,  disinterested 
citizens  were  alarmed,  and  the  shrewder  men  gave 
warnings,  but  none  dared  make  an  effective  stand. 
Behind  the  corruptionists  were  men  of  wealth 
and  social  standing,  who,  because  of  special  priv- 
ileges granted  them,  felt  bound  to  support  and 
defend  the  looters.  Independent  victims  of  the 


TWI.U)    DAN-    I\    VI     U)UIS  :i7 

fispiracy     Mihmitt.-d     in     silence, 

tl.n.u-l,  injur\  ImtfineM.      Men 

whoh-  WAS  never  questioned,  who  held 

l.i^li  position-,  of  trust,  who  wen-  rhurrh  member* 

ami    '  8    .  ItUfteS,  Coiiti  .    the 

Mipj.  .••  <l\  nast  \  ,  —became  hlurknmilrr 

ami    t  ujis    tha'  .ii.l    tin- 

if  they   pro\.«l   tin    lAn-ption   it 
would  work  tin  ir  ruin.     Tlu-  system  I 
tln-Mii-li  lie. use  and  ]>1< ntv   till  it  WAS  as  wild  and 
weak  as  that  of  Tweed  in  NYw  \  «.rk. 

Tlu-M    tli,-    un.Api-ctMl   happened — an   a 
There  WAS  no  uprising  of  tl»»-  jx-opl. ,  hut   th.-v 
I  the  D  •  ic  party  tauiers, 

think  MIIIK-  ituli|M  iid*  tit   votes,  df« 

to  rHi^«    tin-  ,  ,i  put  up  a  ticket  of 

ildatrs  difl'i-n-nt   enough   from  the  UHiml  0 
ingS    of    political    partirs    to    give    color    to    ' 
platform.      T)i<  x<-    leaders    were    not    in    earnest. 
<•  was  little  dill  .-tui-.-u  tin-  two  par- 

luit   tin-  rascals  that   u<n-  in 

l>een  tin  •  ^r.  at.  r  share  of  the  spoils,  and 

tin     "outs"    wanted    more    tlmn    WAS    given    to 
i.     "  Boodle  "  was  not  the  issue,  no  exposures 
were  made  or  threat.  I  the  bosses  expected 

to  control  their  in. -n  Dimply  as  part  of 

the  game,  the  l).inn<r.iU  raised  the  slogan,  "re- 
form "  and  "  no  more  QegenhetB 


:to        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

Mayor  /u  genhein,  called  "  Uncle  Henry,"  was 
a  "  good  fellow,"  "  one  of  the  boys,"  and  though 
it  was  during  his  administration  that  the  city 
grew  ripe  and  went  to  rot,  his  opponents  talked 
only  of  incompetence  and  neglect,  and  repeated 
such  stories  as  that  of  his  famous  reply  to  some 
citi/ens  who  complained  because  certain  stint 
lights  were  put  out:  "  You  have  the  moon  yet — 
ain't  it?" 

When  somebody  mentioned  Joseph  W.  Folk  for 
Circuit  Attorney  the  leaders  were  ready  to  accept 
him.  They  didn't  know  much  about  him.  He  was 
a  young  man  from  Tennessee ;  had  been  President 
of  the  Jefferson  Club,  and  arbitrated  the  railroad 
strike  of  1898.  But  Folk  did  not  want  the  place. 
He  was  a  civil  lawyer,  had  had  no  practice  at  the 
criminal  bar,  cared  little  about  it,  and  a  lucrative 
business  as  counsel  for  corporations  was  interest- 
ing him.  He  rejected  the  invitation.  The  com- 
mittee called  again  and  again,  urging  his  duty 
to  his  party,  and  the  city,  etc. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said,  at  last,  "  I  will  accept  the 
nomination,  but  if  elected  I  will  do  my  duty. 
There  must  be  no  attempt  to  influence  my  actions 
when  I  am  called  upon  to  punish  lawbreakers." 

The  committeemen  took  such  statements  as  the 
conventional  platitudes  of  candidates.  They  nom- 
inated him,  the  Democratic  ticket  was  elected,  and 


T\\  i  ID  DAYB  i\   M     U)UIS         :i«.) 
I'd  k  became  (in  mt  Attorney  i     ;hth  Mis- 

souri Distn 

Tim  «•  weeks  after  taking  the  oath  of  office  his 
campaign  pledges  were  put  t<>  tin  t,  >t.  A  number 
of  arrests  had  been  mad  with  tin- 

recent  election,  and  churls  of  illegal  n-j. 
were  preferred  against  men  of  l»«.th  . 
Folk  took  tin-in  nj»  like  routine  cases  of  ordinary 

crime.  Political  bossrs  rushed  to  the  rescue. 
M  ••  Folk  was  remind.  .I  nt  l,i>  <lut\  to  }\i^  party, 
and  told  that  li.  IfM  .  \j,,  ,  t.  ,1  to  OOOftnM  the  law 
in  MI.  'imrthat  i,  |>.  it. TN  iintl  otlu-r  »•!• 

rrimiiiaN    \vl>o    had   Imixt.-d    1  ) 

rt  him  nii^ht  1»»-  rith.-r  discharged  <>: 
tin-  niiiiiiiuun  puiiishnu  i»t.     'I  :ri- of  the 

young  lawyer's  n-j)l\  from  tin- 

words  of  th.i'  si  political  IradtT,  Colon- 

Hutl.-r,  who.  \isit  to  Mr.  Folk,  wrathfully 

1,  "  I)      n  .Jo.-!  hr  thinks  he's  the  whole 
thing  as  Circuit   Attorney." 

The  election  cases  were  passed  through  the 
courts  with  astonishing  rapidity ;  no  more  mercy 
was  shown  Democrats  than  Republicans,  and  be- 
fore winter  came  a  number  of  ward  heelers  and  old- 
timo  party  workers  were  In-hind  the  bars  in  Jef- 
ferson Citv.  Ilr  next  turned  his  attention  to 
grafters  and  straw  bondsmen  with  whom  the 
courts  were  infested,  and  several  of  these  leeches 


40         II IK  SHAME  OF  THE  ( nil  S 
arc  in  the  penitent  iarv  to-day.     The  business  was 
broken  up  because  of  bis  activity.     But   Mr.  Folk 
had  made  little  more  than  the  beginning. 

One  afternoon,  late  in  January,  1903,  a 
newspaper  reporter,  known  as  "  Red "  Galvin, 
called  Mr.  Folk's  attention  to  a  ten-line  news- 
paper item  to  the  effect  that  a  large  sum  of  money 
had  been  placed  in  a  bank  for  the  purpose  of  brib- 
ing certain  Assemblymen  to  secure  the  passage  of 
a  street  railroad  ordinance.  No  names  were  men- 
tioned, but  Mr.  Galvin  surmised  that  the  bill  re- 
ferred to  was  one  introduced  on  behalf  of  the  Sub- 
urban Railway  Company.  An  hour  later  Mr. 
Folk  sent  the  names  of  nearly  one  hundred  persons 
to  the  sheriff,  with  instructions  to  subpoena  them 
before  the  grand  jury  at  once.  The  list  included 
Councilmen,  members  of  the  House  of  Delegates, 
officers  and  directors  of  the  Suburban  Railway, 
bank  presidents  and  cashiers.  In  three  days  the 
investigation  was  being  pushed  with  vigor,  but 
St.  Louis  was  laughing  at  the  "  huge  joke."  Such 
things  had  been  attempted  before.  The  men  who 
had  been  ordered  to  appear  before  the  grand  jury 
jested  as  they  chatted  in  the  anterooms,  and  news- 
paper accounts  of  these  preliminary  examinations 
were  written  in  the  spirit  of  burlesque. 

It  has  developed  since  that  Circuit  Attorney 
Folk  knew  nothing,  and  was  not  able  to  learn 


T\VI:I:I>  DATS  IV  ST.  LOUIS         n 

much  more  during  the  fimt  few  days;  hut  h<-  says 

he  saw  here  and  there  puffs  of  smoke  and  he  de- 

M.  (1  to  find  tin-  lir. .     It  was  not  an  easy  job. 

ik  into  such  a  system  is  always 
ficult.     Mr.  I-'olk  began  with  nothing  but  courage 
and  a  strong  personal  o»n\  id  inn      1  Ie  caused  per- 
emptory summons  to  be  issued,  fur  the  immediate 
i  tin-  grand  jury  room  of  Charles  H. 
president  of  tli.-  Suburban  Railway,  and 
Philip  Stock,  a  representative  of  brewers'  i 
ests,  who.  In-  had  reason  to  believe,  was  the  legis- 

B  agent  in  this  deal. 
44  (i  M,"  said  Mr.  Folk,  "I  have  secured 

sufficient   evidence  to  warrant    the  r.-turn  of  it 
ments  against  you  for  bribery,  and  I  .shall  prose- 
cute you  to  the  full  extent  of  the  law  and  send  you 
to  the  penitentiary   unless  you   tell   to  tl. 
jury   the  complete  history   of   the   corrupt ionist 
methods  employed  by  you  to  .sec -ure  the  passage  of 
Ordinance  No.  44.     I  shall  gi  three  days  to 

consider  the  matter.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  if 
you  have  not  returned  here  and  given  us  the  infor- 
mation demanded,  warrants  will  be  issued  for  your 

They  looked  at  the  nu  young  prosecu- 

nd  left  the  Four  Courts  building  without  ut- 
tering a  word.     II  ted.     Two  days  later. 
Lieutenant  Governor  Charles  P.  Johnson,  the 


42        THE  SHAME  OF  THK  CITIES 

cran  rriininal  lawvrr,  called,  and  sale!  that  his 
(lit  nt,  Mr.  Stock,  was  in  such  poor  health  that 
he  would  be  unable  to  appear  before  the  grand 


"  I  am  truly  sorry  that  Mr.  Stock  is  ill,"  re- 
plied Mr.  Folk,  "  for  his  presence  here  is  impera- 
tive, and  if  he  fails  to  appear  he  will  be  arrested 
before  sundown." 

That  evening  a  conference  was  held  in  Governor 
Johnson's  office,  and  the  next  day  this  story  was 
told  in  the  grand  jury  room  by  Charles  II.  Turner, 
millionaire  president  of  the  Suburban  Railway,  and 
corroborated  by  Philip  Stock,  man-about-town  and 
a  good  fellow:  The  Suburban,  anxious  to  sell  out 
at  a  large  profit  to  its  only  competitor,  the  St. 
Louis  Transit  Co.,  caused  to  be  drafted  the  meas- 
ure known  as  House  Bill  No.  44.  So  sweeping 
were  its  grants  that  Mr.  Turner,  who  planned  and 
executed  the  document,  told  the  directors  in  his 
confidence  that  its  enactment  into  law  would  en- 
hance the  value  of  the  property  from  three  to  six 
million  dollars.  The  bill  introduced,  Mr.  Turner 
visited  Colonel  Butler,  who  had  long  been  known  as 
a  legislative  agent,  and  asked  his  price  for  secur- 
ing the  passage  of  the  measure.  "  One  hundred  and 
forty-five  thousand  dollars  will  be  my  fee,"  was  the 
reply.  The  railway  president  demurred.  He  would 
think  the  matter  over,  he  said,  and  he  hired  a 


r\\  i  i.D  im  s  IN  s'j    i.ous         i.» 

per  man,  >ck  conferred  with  the 

representative  of  the  comhine  in  tlie  House  of 
Delegates  and  report  .d  that  $75,000  would  be 
necessary  in  this  branch  of  the  Assembly.  Mr. 
TuriHT  pr.  >-  ntid  a  imt,-  indorsed  by  two  of  tin- 
tors  whom  he  could  trust,  and  secured  a  loan 
from  tli.  (i.i:i..i:i  Aasvieta  Savings  Bank. 

Bribe  funds  in  pocket,  the  legislative  agent  tel- 
ephoned John  Murrell,  at  that  time  a  representa- 
ise  combin  ,   t<>   meet    him   in   tin- 
office  of  the  Lincoln  Trust  Company.    There  the 
two  rented  a  safe-deposit  box.     Mr.  Stock  placed 
in  the  drawer  the  roll  of  $70,000,  and  each  sub- 
•  d  to  an  agreement  that  the  box  should  not  be 
opened  unless  both  were  present.     Of  course  the 
•inns  spread  upon  the  bank's  daybook  made 
no  reference  to  the  purpose  for  which  this  fund 
had  been  deposited,  but  an  agreement  entered  into 
by  Messrs.  Stock  and  Murrell  was  to  the  effect 
that  the  $75,000  should  be  given  Mr.  Murrell  as 
soon  as  the  bill  became  an  ordinance,  and  by  him 
distributed  to  the  members  of  the  combine.    Stock 
turned    to    the   Council,   and   upon   his   report   a 
further  sum  of  $60,000  was  secured.     These  bills 
in  a  safe-deposit  box  of  tin-   Missis- 
ley  Trust  Co.,  and  tlu-  man  who  held  the 
key  as  repre-  of  the  Council  combine  was 

Charles  II.  K 


44         11  IK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

All  seemed  well,  but  a  few  weeks  after  placing 
tins,,  funds  in  escrow,  Mr.  Stock  reported  to  his 
employer  that  there  was  an  unexpected  hitch  due 
to  the  action  of  Emil  Meysenburg,  who,  as  a 
member  of  the  Council  Committee  on  Railroads, 
was  holding  up  the  report  on  the  bill.  Mr.  Stock 
said  that  Mr.  Meysenburg  held  some  worthless 
shares  in  a  defunct  corporation  and  wanted  Mr. 
Stock  to  purchase  this  paper  at  its  par  value  of 
$9,000.  Mr.  Turner  gave  Mr.  Stock  the  money 
with  which  to  buy  the  shares. 

Thus  the  passage  of  House  Bill  44  promised  to 
cost  the  Suburban  Railway  Co.  $144,000,  only  one 
thousand  dollars  less  than  that  originally  named 
by  the  political  boss  to  whom  Mr.  Turner  had  first 
applied.  The  bill,  however,  passed  both  houses  of 
the  Assembly.  The  sworn  servants  of  the  city 
had  done  their  work  and  held  out  their  hands  f Or 
the  bribe  money. 

Then  came  a  court  mandate  which  prevented  the 
Suburban  Railway  Co.  from  reaping  the  benefit  of 
the  vote-buying,  and  Charles  H.  Turner,  angered 
at  the  check,  issued  orders  that  the  money  in  safe- 
deposit  boxes  should  not  be  touched.  War  was 
declared  between  bribe-givers  and  bribe-takers, 
and  the  latter  resorted  to  tactics  which  they  hoped 
would  frighten  the  Suburban  people  into  submis- 
sion— such  as  making  enough  of  the  story  public 


I  \\  I  i.D  DAI  B  IN  81     I  "US         45 

mse  minors  of  ini|M-ii<ling  prosecution.  It 
was  that  first  item  which  M  1  >lk  saw  and  acted 
upon. 

When  Messrs.  Turner  and  Stork  unfolds  I  in  th«- 
grand  j u r\  r nth.  heir  bribery  plot, 

I       I,    found  himst  If  in  possession 
M  of  a  groat  ( -riim •;  h<-  needed  an 
hits  tin   t\\o  large  sums  of  money  in 
safe-deposit  vaults  of  two  of  the  largest  banking 
institutions  of  tin    West.     Had  thin  money  been 
withdraunr      Could    he    get    it    if   it    was    there? 
Lock-boxes  had  always  been  considered  sacred  and 
beyond  tin-  power  of  the  law  to  open.     "  I've  al- 
ways 1>.  Id,"  said  Mr.   Folk,  M  that    tin-  fart  that  a 
thin^  in  \  hecn  done  was  no  reason  for  think- 

ing it  couldn't  !>«•  doin-."     II  I  in  this  case 

that   tin-  magnitude  of  the  inten-sts  involved  war- 
d  unusual  action, so  he  selected  a  committee  of 
grand  jurors  an*  I  one  of  the  banks.     II- 

tlu     |.r  i   personal    frit nd,   the   facts 

M  into  his  possession,  and  asked  per- 
mission to  st  r  the  fund. 

"  Impossible,"  was  the  reply.    "  Our  rules  deny 
anvont    tin-  right.'* 

44  y  — ,"  said  Mr.  Folk,  "  a  crime  has  been 

nittrd,  and   you  hold  concealed  the  principal 

mv   th.-n-to.      In   the  name  of  tin-  State  of 

>uri  I  demand  that  you  cause  the  box  to  be 


46       Tin-:  SIIAMI:  or  TIM:  <  rrn  s 

opened.  If  vou  r. -f'us,  ,  I  shall  cause  a  warrant  to 
be  issued,  charging  you  a^  an  am  sM>ry." 

For  a  minute  not  a  word  was  sp,,k<  n  l>\  anv- 
one  in  the  room;  then  the  banker  said  in  almost  in- 
audible tones: 

"Give  me  a  little  time,  gentlemen.  I  must  con- 
sult with  our  legal  adviser  before  taking  such  a 
step." 

"We  will  wait  ten  minutes,"  said  the  Gin-nit 
Attorney.  "  By  that  time  we  must  have  access  to 
the  vault  or  a  warrant  will  be  applied  for." 

At  the  expiration  of  that  time  a  solemn  pro- 
<>n  wended  its  way  from  the  president's  office 
to  the  vaults  in  the  sub-cellar — the  president,  tin- 
cashier,  and  the  corporation's  lawyer,  the  grand 
jurors,  and  the  Circuit  Attorney.  All  IK  nt 
eagerly  forward  as  the  key  was  inserted  in  the 
lock.  The  iron  drawer  yielded,  and  a  roll  of  some- 
thing wrapped  in  brown  paper  was  brought  to 
light.  The  Circuit  Attorney  removed  the  rubber 
bands,  and  national  bank  notes  of  large  denomi- 
nation spread  out  flat  before  them.  The  money 
was  counted,  and  the  sum  was  $75,000 ! 

The  boodle  fund  was  returned  to  its  repository, 
officers  of  the  bank  were  told  they  would  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  it  until  the  courts  could  art.  The  in- 
vestigators visited  the  other  financial  institution. 
They  met  with  more  resistance  there.  The  threat 


TWM.n  EU1  B  IN  SI     IXHJIS        47 

to  procure  a  warrant  had  no  effect  until  Mr.  Folk 
uiMiii^  .ui.l  set  off  in  tli-  -n  of  tin- 

i  I 'lien  a  messenger  t  all.  d  him  back, 

ami  the  second  box  was  opened.  In  this  was  found 
$60,000.  The  rim.  xlence  was  comj 

•  mmm  nt  events  moved  rapidly. 
1  ;les  Kratz  and  .!<>lm  K.  Murn-11,  alleged  rep- 
resentatives of  Coum-il  and  IloiiM  rnmhim  s, 

arrested  on  bench  warrants  and  placed  under 
heavy  boi  :  Kratx  wan  brought  into  court  from 
a  meeting  at  which  plans  w.  rmcd  for 

his  election  to  tl       \  «    >ngres§.      Murn-11 

was    takrn    t'r his    undertaking   establishment . 

1  1  Meyscnburg,  millionuin  l.r.ik.-r,  was  seated 
in  his  office  when  a  .sht -nt!"-  d.-putv  filtered  and 
read  a  doi-unu-nt  that  chared  him  uith  hriliery. 
Tin-  MimmonN  r..i,li.  il  H.IU-N  \.(..laus  while  hr 
was  seated  at  his  desk,  and  the  wealthy  hrewer  was 
coiiifx  !1<  d  to  -.nd  for  a  hondsman  to  avoid  pass- 
ing a  night  in  jail.  Tin-  ruble  flashed  tin- 
to  Cairo,  Egypt,  that  I'.llis  Wainwright,  many 

>   a  inillioiiiiire,  proprietor  of  the  St.    I 
that  bears  this   name,  had  been   iml 
Julius  I.,  hm.inii.  llu-  members  of  the  House 

'••legates,  who  hud  jnkrd  whilr  suiting  in  the 
grand  jury's  anteroom,  hud  his  laughter  cut  short 
hv  tin-  hand  of  u  d«  |>uty  slu-rifl'  on  his  shoulder  and 
the  words,  "  You  are  charged  with  |MTJur\."  lie 


4S        THE  SHAME  OF  Till     CITIES 

was  joined  at    the  bar  of   the   criminal    court  by 

Harrv  Faulkner,  another  jolly  good  fellow. 

Consternation  spread  among  the  boodle  gang. 
Some  of  the  men  took  niglit  trains  for  other 
States  and  foreign  countries  the  majority  re- 
mained and  counseled  together.  Within  twenty- 
four  hours  after  the  first  indictments  were  re- 
turned, a  meeting  of  bribe-givers  and  bribe-taken 
was  held  in  South  St.  Louis.  The  total  wraith  of 
those  in  attendance  was  $30,000,000,  and  their 
combined  political  influence  sufficient  to  carry  any 
municipal  election  under  normal  conditions. 

This  great  power  was  aligned  in  opposition  to 
one  man,  who  still  was  alone.  It  was  not  until 
many  indictments  had  been  returned  that  a  citi- 
zens' committee  was  formed  to  furnish  funds,  and 
even  then  most  of  the  contributors  concealed  their 
identity.  Mr.  James  L.  Blair,  the  treasurer,  testi- 
fied in  court  that  they  were  afraid  to  be  known 
lest  "  it  ruin  their  businc  — ." 

At  the  meeting  of  corruptionists  three  courses 
were  decided  upon.  Political  leaders  were  to  work 
on  the  Circuit  Attorney  by  promise  of  future  re- 
ward, or  by  threats.  Detectives  were  to  ferret  out 
of  the  young  lawyer's  past  anything  that  could  be 
used  against  him.  Witnesses  umild  be  sent  out  of 
town  and  provided  with  money  to  remain  away 
until  the  adjournment  of  the  grand  jury. 


'I  \\  I    1.1)    I)U  -     l\     -  I       I  "I    I-  l'.» 

1  the  pressure,  and  it  was 

of  a  .  <>ne.    Statesmen,  lawjcrs, 

merchant*,    clubmen,    <  -him  lunen — in    fact,    men 

t    in  all  walk*  of  life— vi-ited  him  at  hit 

office  and  at  his  home,  and  urged  that  he  cea*e  such 

trains!  his  1  'Wiiftpoople.      I'ol 

nt    was   promised    if    In    would    yield;   a 
•ieal  grn\  t,,|       Threatening 

ters  came,  warning  him  «»!'  pints  to  uuir<l«T,  to  db- 
.1  t.»  hlack^u.u.l.      \\ 

nessee  that  <i<  v  act 

of  his  lif,        M,      1  '.,M  the  politicians  that  he 

waa  not  seeking  polit  ors,  and  not  looking 

forward  to  another  offi<  others  he  defied. 

probed  the  deeper  into  tin-  muni 
sore.     With   his   firxt   successes  for  prestige  and 
aided  by  tin-  j  tin-  hoodlers,  he  soon  had 

tlu-m     Mispicious     of     one     another,     exclmn 
charges  of  I.  to  **  squeal"  or 

it  tin-  .sli^litt^t  si^n  of  danger.    On« 
of  the  House  of  Delegates  became  so  frightened 
whilr  uiul.-r  tin-  inquisitorial  cross  fin-  that  h. 

I  with  a  nervous  chill;  his  false  teeth  fell  to 
the  Moor,  and  th.  w  increased  his  alarm 

he  rushed  from  the  room  without  stopping  to  pick 
up  his  teeth,  and  boarded  the  ne\ 

It   was  not  long  before   Mr     Folk  had  dug  up 
'en  years  of  corruption, 


50        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

especially  of  tin-  business  of  the  North  and  South 
and  tlu-  Central  Traction  franchise  grants,  the 
last-named  being  even  more  iniquitous  than  the 
Suburban. 

Early  in  1898  a  "promoter"  rented  a  bridal 
suite  at  the  Planters'  Hotel,  and  having  stocked 
the  rooms  with  wines,  liquors,  and  cigars  until  they 
resembled  a  candidate's  headquarter*  during  a  con- 
vention, sought  introduction  to  members  of  the  As- 
sembly and  to  such  political  bosses  as  had  in- 
fluence with  the  city  fathers.  Two  weeks  after 
his  arrival  the  Central  Traction  bill  was  intro- 
duced "  by  request  "  in  the  Council.  The  mca-ure 
was  a  blanket  franchise,  granting  rights  of  \\ay 
which  had  not  been  given  to  old-established  com- 
panies, and  permitting  the  beneficiaries  to  par- 
allel any  track  in  the  city.  It  passed  both 
Houses  despite  the  protests  of  every  newspaper  in 
the  city,  save  one,  and  was  vetoed  by  the  mayor. 
The  cost  to  the  promoter  was  $145,000. 

Preparations  were  made  to  pass  the  bill  over  the 
executive's  veto.  The  bridal  suite  was  restocked, 
larger  sums  of  money  were  placed  on  deposit  in 
the  banks,  and  the  services  of  three  legislative 
agents  were  engaged.  Evidence  now  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  St.  Louis  courts  tells  in  detail  the 
disposition  of  $250,000  of  bribe  money.  Sworn 
statements  prove  that  $75,000  was  >pent  ;n  the 


TWl'.r.l)  DATS  IX  ST.  LOUIS         51 
i    legates.    The  remainder  of  the  $250,- 

000  was  d,-t nhut,  d  in  tin-  Council,  »hose  members, 
though  f,  -\%  iii  i.uinl).  r,  ippraited  their  honor  at  a 
higher  figure  on  account  of  their  higher  po* 
in  tin-  Imaincss  and  social  world.  Finally,  hut  on.- 
was  needed  to  complete  the  necessary  two- 
thirds  in  tli.  upper  Chamber.  To  secure  this  a 

councilman  of  n-ptited  intent  \    was  paid  $50,000 

in  coiiHidi  r.it  i.ni  tl.  r  •••  aje  when  the  ordi- 

nance should  come  up  for  final  passage.     lint  tin- 
promoter  did  not  dare  risk  nil  U|MHI  the  vote  of  one 
.  and  he  made  this  novel  proposition  to  an- 
r  honored  n»«  inher,  who  accepted  it  : 

.-on  roll  rail  after  Mr.  -  I 

will  place  $45,000  in  the  hands  of  your  son,  " 
amount  will  hecome  yours,  if  you  have  to  vote  for 

the  measure  because  of  Mr. *s  not  keeping  his 

promise.     But    if  he  stands  out  for  it  you  can 
against   it,  and   the   money  shall   revert    to 

On  the  evening  when  the  hill  was  read  for  final 

passage   the   City   Hall   was  crowded  with  ward 

heelers  and  lesser  politicians.    Th.  >,•  men  had  been 

engaged  by  the  promoter,  at  five  and  t.-n  dollars  a 

i-  on  the  doodling  Assemblymen.     The 

hill  pa»ed  the  House  with  a  rush,  and  all  crowded 

into   the   Council    Chan. her.      While    the    roll   was 

g  called  the  sil.-ncc  was  profound,  for  all  knew 


52  THE  SHAME  OF  Till  (III  IS 
that  some  mm  in  the  Chamber  uhoxr  reputations 
had  been  free  from  blemish,  were  under  promise 
and  pay  to  part  with  honor  that  night.  Wlim  the 
clerk  was  two-third-  do\\  n  the  list  thox,-  \\  ho  had 
kept  count  knew  that  but  one  vote  was  n< 

One  more  name  was  called.  The  man  addn •-- ed 
turned  red,  then  white,  and  after  a  moment's  hesi- 
tation he  whispered  "aye"  !  The  silence  was  so 
death-like  that  his  vote  was  heard  throughout  tin- 
room,  and  those  near  enough  heard  also  the  sigh 
of  relief  that  escaped  from  the  member  who  could 
now  vote  "  no  "  and  save  his  reputation. 

The  Central  Franchise  bill  was  a  law,  passed 
over  the  mayor's  veto.  The  promoter  had  ex- 
pended nearly  $300,000  in  securing  the  legislation, 
but  within  a  week  he  sold  his  rights  of  way  to 
"Eastern  capitalists"  for  $1,250,000.  The 
United  Railways  Company  was  formed,  and  with- 
out owning  an  inch  of  steel  rail,  or  a  plank  in  a 
car,  was  able  to  compel  every  street  railroad  in 
St.  Louis,  with  the  exception  of  the  Suburban,  to 
part  with  stock  and  right  of  way  and  agree  to  a 
merger.  Out  of  this  grew  the  St.  Louis  Transit 
Company  of  to-day. 

Several  incidents  followed  this  legislative  ses- 
sion. After  the  Assembly  had  adjourned,  a  pro- 
moter entertained  the  $50,000  councilman  at  a 
downtown  restaurant.  During  the  supper  the  host 


i\vi:i:i)  DAYS  IN  s'j    i.oris        H 

rona  his  tfiH-t,  "  I  HIJ.II  you  would  lend  me 

that  $50,000  until  to  morrow.  There  are  tome 
of  the  boys  outside  whom  I  haven't  p..  '!;.•• 

money  changed  hands.     The   next  day,  hi 
waited  in  vain  for  the  prom.,',,,   \I,    (  .,micilman 

<>l\er  and  began  a  search 
•  tels.    The  hunt  ,.    -      I  .ed  fruit- 

less, but  tlu  sUtor  kept  on  tin-  trail  until 

;imc   face   to    face    with    the    lobbyist    in    the 
dor    of    the    Wal<!  >ria.     The    New 

Yorker,  seeing  the  danger,  soiled  the  St.  Louisan 
the  arm  and  said  soothin^l\.  here; 

don't  t  ike  on  so.  I  was  called  away  suddtnlv. 
Come  to  supper  with  me;  I  will  give  you  the 
money.** 

invitation  was  accepted,  and  champagne 
soon  was  flowing.     When  the  man  from  ' 
had    become    sufficiently     maudlin     the     pro: 
passed  over  to  him  a  letter,  uhich  he  had  dictated 
to  a  t\j-  uhile  away  from  the  table  for  a 

few  minutes.     The  xt  denied  all  knowledge 

of  hr.ln  ,-\  . 

N      ;         n  that  and   I   will   pay  you  $5,000. 
e,  and  vou  don't  get  a  *h«    pr.» 

Louisan  n  turned  home  carrying 
the  $5,000,  and  that  was  all. 

Meanwhile  the   promoter  had   not    fared  SO  well 
with  other  spoiUnun.      H\    the  terms  of  t! 


">i  THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
legislation  agreement  n-fVrml  to  al>o\c,  the  son 
of  one  councilman  was  pledged  to  return  $1-5,000 
if  his  father  was  saved  tin  oeoettitj  of  voting 
for  the  bill.  The  next  day  the  New  Yorker  sought 
out  this  young  man  and  asked  for  the  money. 

"  I  am  not  going  to  give  it  to  you,"  was  the 
cool  rejoinder.  "  My  mamma  says  that  it  is  Inilx 
money  and  that  it  would  be  wrong  to  give  it  to 
either  you  or  father,  so  I  shall  keep  it  myself." 
And  he  did.  When  summoned  before  the  ^r.-i n<l 
jury  this  young  man  asked  to  be  relieved  from 
answering  questions.  "  I  am  afraid  I  mi«;hf  com 
mit  perjury,"  he  said.  He  was  advised  to  "  Tell 
the  truth  and  there  will  be  no  risk." 

"  It  would  be  all  right,"  said  the  son,  "  if  Mr. 
Folk  would  tell  me  what  the  other  fellows  have 
testified  to.  Please  have  him  do  that." 

Two  indictments  were  found  as  the  result  of  this 
Central  Traction  bill,  and  bench  warrants  were 
served  on  Robert  M.  Snyder  and  George  J.  Ko- 
busch.  The  State  charged  the  former  with  being 
one  of  the  promoters  of  the  bill,  the  definite  alle- 
gation being  bribery.  Mr.  Kobusch,  who  is  presi- 
dent of  a  street  car  manufacturing  company,  was 
charged  with  perjury. 

The  first  case  tried  was  that  of  Emil  Meysen- 
burg,  the  millionaire  who  compelled  the  Suburban 
people  to  purchase  his  worthless  stock.  He  was 


TWl.l.D   DAN-    IN   S'l      LOUS          55 
.ckd  by   three  attorney!  of   high   n  pu* 
criminal  jun-|>ru<l«  iu  •  ,  hut  tin-  voting  Circur 
tonic\    j»rn\ij|  equal  tn  the  emergency,  and  a  eon* 

»n  was  secured.  Three  yean  in  the  pen 
tiary  was  the  sentence.  Charles  Kr/it/,  the  • 
gressional  cm  <1  $40,000  by  flight. 

mill  John  K  M  urn  11  also  disappeared.  Mr.  Folk 
traced  Miirn-11  to  M«  xico,  cuus.d  his  arn  st  in 
Guadalajara,  negotiated  with  thr  nuthf.ritir*  for 
his  surrender,  and  wh«-n  this  failed,  arranged  for 
his  rvtnru  home  to  confess,  and  his 
brought  about  tin  irnljrtinriit,  on  September  8,  of 
ci^h*  n  «f  thr  mumrijml  l«-^isl.t 

The  second  case  was  that  of  Julius  Lehmann. 
Two  years  at  hard  labor  was  the  sentence,  and  the 
man  who  had  led  tin-  i<>k.  r>  in  th«-  ^raml  jury 
anti-room  would  have  f'.ill<  n  \  ln-unl  it,  had 

not  I  'idin^  ti< 

Besides  the  convictions  of  these  and  other  MM  n 
of  good  standing  in  the  community,  and  tin-  flight 
any  more,  partnerships  were  dissolved,  rom- 
m  )iH<i  to  be  reorganized,  business  houses  were 
closed  because  their  proprietors  were  absent,  but 
Mr.  Folk,  <i«  t«  rred  as  little  by  success  as  by  failure, 
(1  right  on ;  he  was  not  elated ;  he  was  not  sor- 
rowful. The  man  proceeded  with  his  work  quickly, 
surely,    smilingly,    without    fear    or    pity.     The 
ttiror  spread,  and  the  rout  was  compK  ; 


r>(i         THE  SI  I. \  Mi:  OF  Till;  CITIES 

When  another  grand  jury  was  Mvorn  and  pro- 
ceeded to  take  testimony  then  Rrerc  MOM  <>f  men 
who  threw  up  their  hands  and  crying  "  Mea 
inlpa!"  begged  to  be  permitted  to  tell  all  they 
knew  and  not  be  proserut.d.  Tin  inquiry  broad- 
en. (1.  The  son  of  a  former  mayor  was  indicted  for 
misconduct  in  office  while  serving  as  his  father's 
private  secretary,  and  the  grand  jury  recom- 
mended that  the  ex-mayor  be  sued  in  the  civil 
courts,  to  recover  interests  on  public  money  which 
he  had  placed  in  his  own  pocket.  A  true  bill  fell 
on  a  former  City  Register,  and  more  Assembly m<  n 
were  arrested,  charged  with  making  illegal  con- 
tracts with  the  city.  At  last  the  ax  struck  upon  the 
trunk  of  the  greatest  oak  of  the  forest.  Colonel 
Butler,  the  boss  who  has  controlled  elections  in  St. 
Louis  for  many  years,  the  millionaire  who  had 
risen  from  bellows-boy  in  a  blacksmith9!  shop  to 
be  the  maker  and  guide  of  the  Governors  of  Mis- 
souri, one  of  the  men  who  helped  nominate  and 
elect  Folk — he  also  was  indicted  on  two  counts 
charging  attempted  bribery.  That  Butler  has 
controlled  legislation  in  St.  Louis  had  long  been 
known.  It  was  generally  understood  that  he 
owned  Assemblymen  before  they  ever  took  the 
oath  of  office,  and  that  he  did  not  have  to  pay  for 
votes.  And  yet  open  bribery  was  the  allegation 
now.  Two  members  of  the  Board  of  Health 


•i  \\  i  ID  im  -  IN  -  i  i  MI  i-.  57 
•tood  ready  to  swear  that  he  offered  th«-m 
$€,500  fm-  thrir  appro  n  garbage  con- 

tract. 

Pitiful.'     YI-H.  hut  typical.     Oth«  r  ritir*  arc  to- 
day in  the  lame  condition  as  St.  LouU  be  for 
i  was  inxitid  in  to  s.-«-  its  rottcnneitii.     Ch 

is  cleaning  its.  If  up  just  now,  to  In  Minnch] 
ami  Pittshurg  recently  had  a  bribery  scandal; 
Boston  IB  at  peao  ,  Cincinnati  and  St.  Paul  are 
satisfied,  uliil.  Philad.  Ipliia  is  happy  with  tin- 
worst  govi  mini -nt  in  tin-  wnrlil.  AS  for  the  small 
towns  and  tin  \illages,  many  of  these  are  busy  as 
bees  at  the  loot. 

St.  Louis,  indeed,  in  its  disgrace,  has  a  great  ad- 
vantage. It  was  expose*!  '  has  not  been  re- 
formed and  caught  Again  and  again,  until  it 
zens  are  reconciled  to  corruption.  But,  best  of  all, 
the  man  who  has  turned  St.  !.«.•. is  inside  out, 
turned  it,  as  it  were,  upside  down,  too.  In  all 
,  tin-  I..  isses — tin-  business  men — are 
the  sources  of  corruption;  hut  thi-v  an*  so  rarely 
pursued  and  th.it  we  do  not  fully  realize 
\\li.  jici-  tin  trouble  comes.  Thus  most  cities  blame 
tin  politicians  and  the  ignorant  and  vicious 
poor. 

Mr.  Folk  has  shown  St.  Louis  that  its  bankers, 
brokers,    corporation    officers, — its   business 

MR*  sources  of  evil,  so  that   from  the  start 


58  II  IK  SHAME  OF  Till  CITIES 
it  will  know  tin-  municipal  problem  in  it>  true  li^ht. 
With  a  tradition  for  public  spirit,  it  may  drop 
Hut  lor  and  its  runaway  bankers,  brokers,  and 
brewers,  and  pushing  aside  the  scruples  of  the 
hundreds  of  men  down  in  blue  book,  and  red  book, 
and  church  register,  who  are  lyin^c  hidden  behind 
the  statutes  of  limitations,  the  city  may  restore 
good  government.  Otli<T\vi>r  the  exposures  by  Mr. 
Folk  will  result  only  in  the  perfection  of  the  cor- 
rupt system.  For  the  corrupt  can  learn  a 
when  the  good  citi/ms  cannot.  The 
regime  in  New  York  taught  Tammany  to  organ- 
ize its  boodle  business ;  the  police  exposure  taught 
it  to  improve  its  method  of  collecting  blackmail. 
And  both  now  are  almost  perfect  and  safe.  The 
rascals  of  St.  Louis  will  learn  in  like  manner ;  they 
will  concentrate  the  control  of  their  bribery  system, 
excluding  from  the  profit-sharing  the  great  mass 
of  weak  rascals,  and  carrying  on  the  business 
as  a  business  in  the  interest  of  a  trustworthy 
few.  District  Attorney  Jerome  cannot  catch 
the  Tammany  men,  and  Circuit  Attorney  Folk 
will  not  be  able  another  time  to  break  the 
St.  Louis  ring.  This  is  St.  Louis'  one  great 
chance. 

But,  for  the  rest  of  us,  it  does  not  matter  about 
St.  Louis  any  more  than  it  matters  about  Colonel 
Butler  et  al.  The  point  is,  that  what  went  on  in 


r\vi;i:i)  DAYS  IN  s'j    i.oris        vj 

B  Louis  in  going  on  in  most  of  our  cities,  towns, 
and  villages.  The  problem  of  municipal  govern- 
ni'  /it  in  America  has  not  been  solved.  The  people 
may  be  tired  of  it,  but  they  cannot  give  it  up — 
not  \ 


•1111.  SHAMi;  C)J    M1NNEAP01  I- 


nil    H  I AME  OF  MINNEAPOLIS 

(January,  1903) 
WllRKP.VKR    anything    extraordinary    if    don 

i  municipal  politics,  \\h«thir  for  good  or 
you  can  trace  it  almost  invariably  to  one 
man.  I  |..<»|.1«  <!<>  not  do  it.  .Neither  «lo  the 
"gangs,"  "  combines,"  or  political  parties.  These 
are  but  instruments  by  which  bosses  (not  leaders; 
we  Americans  are  not  led,  hut  driven  )  nil*  tin-  peo- 
ple, and  commonly  sell  them  out.  Hut  tin-re  are  at 
least  two  forms  of  the  autocracy  which  bas  sup- 
planted the  democracy  here  as  it  has  everywhere 
democracy  has  been  tried.  One  is  that  of  the  or- 
bv  which,  as  with  the  Republican 
machine  in  Philadelphia,  the  boss  has  normal  con- 
trol i  f  more  than  half  the  voters.  The  otlx 
tl.it  of  the  adroitly  managed  minority.  The 
44  good  people  "  are  herded  into  parties  am!  stupe- 
fied with  convictions  and  a  name.  Republican  «.r 
Democrat  ;  while  the  "bad  people"  are  so  organ- 
ized or  interested  by  the  boss  that  he  can  wield 
r  votes  to  enforce  terms  with  party  managers 
and  decide  elections.  St.  Louis  is  a  conspicuous 
example  of  this  form.  Minneapolis  is  another. 

03 


64        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

Colonel  Ed  Butler  is  tin-  unscrupuloafl  opportunist 

\\ho  handled  the  non-partisan  minnritv  which 
turned  St.  Louis  into  a  "  boodlr  town."  In  Min- 
neapolis "  Doc  "  Ames  was  the  man. 

Minneapolis  is  a  New  England  town  on  the 
upper  Mississippi.  The  metropolis  of  the  North- 
west, it  is  the  metropolis  also  of  Norway  and 
Sweden  in  America.  Indeed,  it  is  the  second 
largest  Scandinavian  city  in  the  world.  But  Yan- 
kees, straight  from  Down  East,  settled  the  town, 
and  their  New  England  spirit  predominate*.  Tin-s- 
had Bayard  Taylor  lecture  there  in  the  early  days 
of  the  settlement;  they  made  it  the  seat  of  the 
University  of  Minnesota.  Yet  even  now,  win  n  tin- 
town  has  grown  to  a  population  of  more  than 
200,000,  you  feel  that  there  is  something  West  mi 
about  it  too — a  Yankee  with  a  round Puri tan  head, 
an  open  prairie  heart,  and  a  great,  big  Scandina- 
vian body.  The  "  Roundhead  "  takes  the  "  Square- 
head "  out  into  the  woods,  and  they  cut  lumber  by 
forests,  or  they  go  out  on  the  prairi<  s  and  raise 
wheat  and  mill  it  into  fleet-cargoes  of  flour.  They 
work  hard,  they  make  money,  they  are  sober,  sat- 
isfied, busy  with  their  own  affairs.  There  isn't 
much  time  for  public  business.  Taken  together, 
Miles,  Hans,  and  Ole  are  very  American.  Miles 
insists  upon  strict  laws,  Ole  and  Hans  want  one  or 
two  Scandinavians  on  their  ticket.  These  things 


mi    -I1AME  OF  MI NM   \POLIS      65 
granted*  they  go  off  on  raft  or  reaper,  lea 
o  will  to  enforce  the  law*  and  run  the  c . 
The  people  who  were  left  to  govern  the  city 
hated  above  all  thing*  Mtrict  law*.    They  were  the 
loafers,  saloon  keepers,  gamblers,  criminals,  and 
tin-  thriftless  poor  of  all  nationalities.     Resenting 
the  sobriety  of  a  staid,  industrious  community,  and 

ilg   no    Irish    (n    hoss    tin-in,    tln-N     drliglitrd    t.> 

..vial    pioneer  d  \;l>ert   Alonzo 

Ames.  He  was  the  *'  good  fallow"— a  genial, 
generous  reprobate.  Dcvery,  Tweed,  and  many 
more  have  exposed  in  vain  this  amiable  type. 
"Doc"  Ames,  tall,  straight,  and  cheerful,  at- 

.(1    men,    ami    they   gave    him    vote*    for    his 

smiles.   He  stood  for  license.   There  was  nothing  of 

I'uritan  about  him.     11;-  fath«  r,  the  sturdy  old 

|iii»n.-i  r.  :    1     sha  Ames,  had  a  strong 

ii   of   it    in   him,  but   he  moved  on   with   his 
family  of  six  sons  from  Gnnl-  n    IV-iiri.-,   I 
Fort  Snelling  refenration,  in  1851,  before  Minne- 
apolis was   founded,  and  young   All>.rt    Alonzo, 
who  then  was  ten  years  old,  grew  up  free,  easy,  and 

int.    He  was  sent  to  school,  then  to  college  in 
1         igo,  and  he  returned  home  a  doctor  of  r 

before  he  was  twenty-one.    As  the  town  waxed 

soberer  and  i  !  '          _:rew  gayer  and  more 

and  more  generous.     Skillful  as  a  surgeon,  de- 

.  and  as  a  man  kindly,  he  in- 


66        THE  SI  I  AMI    OF  THE  CITIES 

creased  his  practice  till  he  was  the  lu-st  -loved  man 
in  the  community.  He  was  especially  good  to  the 
poor.  Anybody  could  summon  "  Doc  "  Ames  at 
any  hour  to  any  distance.  He  went,  and  he  gave 
not  only  his  professional  service,  but  sympathy, 
and  often  charity.  t%  Hie  her  nun  than  you  will 
pay  your  bill,"  he  told  the  destitute.  So  there  was 
a  basis  for  his  "good  fellowship."  There  always 
is;  these  good  fellows  are  not  frauds — not  in  the 
beginning. 

But  there  is  another  side  to  them  sometimes. 
Ames  was  sunshine  not  to  the  sick  and  destitute 
only.  To  the  vicious  and  the  depraved  also  he 
was  a  comfort.  If  a  man  was  a  hard  drinker,  the 
good  Doctor  cheered  him  with  another  drink  ;  if  he 
had  stolen  something,  the  Doctor  helped  to  get  him 
off.  He  was  naturally  vain ;  popularity  developed 
his  love  of  approbation.  His  loose  life  brought 
disapproval  only  from  the  good  people,  so  grad- 
ually the  Doctor  came  to  enjoy  best  the  society  of 
the  barroom  and  the  streets.  This  society,  flat- 
t«ml  in  turn,  worshiped  the  good  Doctor,  and, 
active  in  politics  always,  put  its  physician  into 
the  arena. 

Had  he  been  wise  or  even  shrewd,  he  might  have 
made  himself  a  real  power.  But  he  wasn't  calcu- 
lating, only  light  and  frivolous,  so  he  did  not  or- 
ganize his  forces  and  run  men  for  office.  He 


'1111.   SII  \MI     M|     MINM 

•ought  office  himself  from  the  start,  and  he  got 

most  of  the  small  places  he  wanted  by  clmn^in^  hi* 

party    to    seiie    the    opportunity.     Hi*    floating 

,  add«d  to  tin-  n-tfiilar  partisan  vote,  was 

sufficient  ordinarily    for  hi-*   useless  victories.     As 

tun.-  wi nt  mi  !..    I-..-.-  from  smaller  offices  to  be  a 

Micun  mayor,  tln-n  twice  at  intervals  to  be  a 

Democratic  maym       1 1    was  a  candidate  once  for 

1        ptttj  !>*'  stood  for  governor  once  on  a  sort 

Democrat  ti(k«t.     Ames  could  not  get 

•liintf  nut-ide  <>(*  his  own  town,  however,  and 

li;-  third  t* mi  as  mayor  it  was  thought  he 

was  out  of  politics  altogetlx         I!     was  getting 

old,  and  he  was  getting  worse. 

Like  many  a  "  good  fellow  "  with  hosts  of  mis- 
neous  friends  downtown  to  whom  he  was  de- 
voted, the  good  Doctor  neglected  his  own  family. 
From  neglect  he  went  on  openly  to  separation 
from  his  wife  and  a  second  establishment.     The 
climax  came  not  long  before  the  rl»  <-ti<m  of  1900. 
family    would    not    ha\v    tin 

fatli.-r  at  the  funeral,  hut  he  appeared, — not  at 
tin  ImiiM,  hut  in  a  carriage  on  the  street.  !!• 
sat  across  the  way,  with  his  feet  up  and  a  cigar 
in  his  mouth,  till  the  funeral  moved:  tlun  he 
circled  around,  crossing  it  and  meeting  it,  and 
making  altogether  a  scene  which  might  w,  11  dote 


(is      Tin:  SIIAMF  OF  TIIF.  CITIES 

It  didn't  end  lik  Tin-  people  liad  just  M-ciiiv<l 
tin*  passage  of  u  new  primary  law  to  e-t  ahlish  di- 
rect popular  government.  There  \\<rc  to  he  no 
more  nominations  by  convention.  The  voter-  were 
to  ballot  for  their  party  candidates.  By  a  slip  of 
some  sort,  the  laws  did  not  specify  that  H<  publi- 
cans only  should  vote  for  Republican  candidates, 
and  only  Democrats  for  Democratic  candidates. 
Any  voter  could  vote  at  cither  primary.  Ann  -,  in 
disn  pute  with  his  own  party,  the  Democratic,  bade 
his  followers  vote  for  his  nomination  for  mayor 
on  the  Republican  ticket.  They  all  voted ;  not  all 
the  Republicans  did.  He  was  nominated.  Nomi- 
nation is  far  from  election,  and  you  would  say  that 
the  trick  would  not  help  him.  But  that  was  a 
Presidential  year,  so  the  people  of  Minneapolis 
had  to  vote  for  Ames,  the  Republican  candidate 
for  mayor.  Besides,  Ames  said  he  was  going  to 
reform;  that  he  was  getting  old,  and  wanted  to 
close  his  career  with  a  good  administration.  The 
effective  argument,  however,  was  that,  since  M< 
Kinley  had  to  be  elected  to  save  the  country,  Ames 
must  be  supported  for  mayor  of  Minneapolis. 
Why?  The  great  American  people  cannot  be 
trusted  to  scratch  a  ticket. 

Well,  Minneapolis  got  its  old  mayor  back,  and 
he  was  indeed  "  reformed."  Up  to  this  time  Ames 
had  not  been  very  venal  personally.  He  was  a 


Till  Hl\\fE  OF  MINNEAPOLIS  69 
"spender,"  not  a  "  grafter,"  and  lie  was  guilty 
of  corrupt  inn  <-hi«  Hy  h\  pro\\  ,  !»••  took  the  honors 
an<i  1.  it  ti.,-  MpoiU  to  IMS  follower*.  His  adminis- 
<>ns  were  no  worse  than  the  worst.  Now,  how- 
ever, he  set  out  upon  a  career  of  corruption  win.  h 

riltflie*s,  MIX.  nt  ion,  and  .IN  HIM  •    lias  BtVtT 

been  It  was  as  if  he  had  made  uj 

mind  td/it  lu-  had  heen  careless  long  enough,  and 
meant  to  enrich  his  last  years.  He  began 
promptly. 

1  mediately  upon  his  election,  before  he  took 
office  (on  January  7,  1901),  he  organized  a 
cabinet  and  laid  plans  to  turn  tin  city  over  to 
outlaws  who  were  to  work  under  police  din< 
for  the  profit  of  his  administration.  He  chose  for 
his  brother.  Colonel  Frvd  \V.  Ames,  who  had 
recently  returned  under  a  cloud  from  sen-ice  in 
the  Philippines.  But  he  was  a  weak  vessel  for 
chief  of  police,  and  the  mayor  picked  for  < 
of  d-  t.  .-fives  an  abler  man,  who  was  to  dir.ct  the 
more  difficult  operations.  This  was  Norman  W. 
King,  A  fonnt-r  g  ,  who  knew  tin*  criminaU 

needed   in   the  business  ahead.      Kin^  was  to  in- 

MinnrapolU  thii-ves,  confidence  men.   ; 
pockets    and    gamblers,    and    release    some    that 
were  in  the  local  j.-iil.     They  were  to  be  organized 
into  groups,  according  to  their  profession,  and 
detectives    were    assigned    to    assist    and    direct 


70        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

tin-in.  Tin  head  of  the  gambling  syndic  ate  was 
to  have  charge  of  tin-  gambling,  making  the 
t rnns and  collecting  the  "  graft,"  just  as  King  and 
a  Captain  Hill  were  to  collect  from  the  thieves. 
The  collie  tor  for  women  of  the  town  was  to  be 
Invin  A.  Gardner,  a  medical  student  in  the  Doc- 
tor's office,  who  was  made  a  special  policeman  for 
tlit  purpose.  These  men  looked  over  the  force, 
M  l.rtrd  those  men  who  could  be  trusted,  charged 
them  a  price  for  their  retention,  and  marked  for 
dismissal  107  men  out  of  225,  the  107  being  the 
best  policemen  in  the  department  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  citizens  who  afterward  reorgani/<d 
the  force.  John  Fit  dirt  te,  better  known  as  "  Cof- 
fee John,"  a  Virginian  (who  served  on  the  Jef- 
ferson Davis  jury),  the  keeper  of  a  notorious  cof- 
fee-house, was  to  be  a  captain  of  police,  with  no 
duties  except  to  sell  places  on  the  police  force. 

And  they  did  these  things  that  they  planned — 
all  and  more.  The  administration  opened  with  the 
revolution  on  the  police  force.  The  thieves  in  the 
local  jail  were  liberated,  and  it  was  made  known 
to  the  Under  World  generally  that  "  things  were 
doing"  in  Minneapolis.  The  incoming  swindlers 
reported  to  King  or  his  staff  for  instructions,  and 
went  to  work,  turning  the  "  swag "  over  to  the 
detectives  in  charge.  Gambling  went  on  openly, 
and  disorderly  houses  multiplied  under  the  foster- 


•i  ill.  9HAME  OF  MINMAPOLIS      :i 
ing  care  of  Gardner,  the  medical  stud.  nt. 
all  this  wu*  not  enough.     Ames  dared  to  break 
v    into   the   municipal   system   of  vice   pro- 
Mi. 

Tin  n   was  such  a  thing.     Minncap<  tin 

its  laws,  forbade  vices  which  are  inevitalil. .  th.-n 
regularly  permitted  them  un«!  •  ndition*. 

Legal  limits,  called  **  patrol  lines/*  were  prescribed, 
within  which  saloons  might  be  opened.  These  ran 
along  the  river  front,  out  through  part  of  tin- 
business  section,  with  long  arms  reaching  into  the 
Scan  u  quarters,  north  and  south.  Gam- 

hling  also  was  confined,  hut  more  narrowly.  And 
there  were  limits,  also  arbitrary,  but  not  always 
identical  with  those  for  giunhl ing,  within  which  the 
social  evil  was  allowed.  Hut  tin  m»\,  1  feature  of 
this  scheme  was  that  disorderly  houses  were  prac- 
tically licensed  by  the  city,  the  women  appearing 
before  the  clerk  of  tin-  Municipal  Court  each 
month  to  pay  a  "  fine  "  of  $100.  Unable  at 
to  get  this  "  graft,"  Ames's  man  Gardner  per- 
suaded women  to  start  house>.  nits,  and,  of 
all  things,  candy  stores,  which  sold  sweets  to  chil- 
dren and  tobacco  to  the  4*  lumber  Jacks  "  in  front, 
while  a  nefarious  traffic  was  carried  on  in  tin- 
rear.  But  they  paid  Ames,  not  t!  and  that 
was  all  this  "  reform  "  administration  cared  about. 
The  revenue  from  all  these  sources  must  have 


72  THE  SHAME  OF  THE  (  I  I  Il-S 
been  large.  It  only  whetted  the  av.uid  of  tin- 
mayor  and  his  Cabinet.  They  let  gambling  privi- 
leges without  restrict  ion  as  »<»  location  or  "  square- 
ness " ;  the  syndicate  could  cheat  and  rob  as  it 
would.  Peddlers  and  pawnbrokers,  formerly  li- 
censed by  the  city,  jought  permits  now  instead 
from  the  mayor's  agent  in  this  field.  Some  two 
hundred  slot  machines  were  installed  in  various 
parts  of  the  town,  with  owner's  agent  and  mayor's 
agent  watching  and  collecting  from  them  enough 
to  pay  the  mayor  $15,000  a  year  as  his  share. 
Auction  frauds  were  instituted.  Opium  joints  and 
unlicensed  saloons,  called  "  blind  pigs,"  were  pro- 
tected. Gardner  even  had  a  police  baseball  team, 
for  whose  games  tickets  were  sold  to  people  who 
had  to  buy  them.  But  the  women  were  the  easiest 
"  graft."  They  were  compelled  to  buy  illustrated 
biographies  of  the  city  officials;  they  had  to  give 
presents  of  money,  jewelry,  and  gold  stars  to 
police  officers.  But  the  money  they  still  paid  di- 
rect to  the  city  in  fines,  some  $35,000  a  year, 
fretted  the  mayor,  and  at  last  he  reached  for  it. 
He  came  out  with  a  declaration,  in  his  old  char- 
acter as  friend  of  the  oppressed,  that  $100  a 
month  was  too  much  for  these  women  to  pay. 
They  should  be  required  to  pay  the  city  fine  only 
once  in  two  months.  This  puzzled  the  town  till 
it  became  generally  known  that  Gardner  collected 


(»i    TIII:    imvr   r\».i:   or   "  TIII:    HHi    MITT 


74  THE  SIIAMi;  OF  Till;  riTIKS 
the  other  month  for  the  mayor.  The  final  outrage 
in  this  department,  howevi  r,  was  an  order  of  the 
mayor  for  the  periodic  visits  to  disorderly  houses, 
by  the  city's  physicians,  at  from  $5  to  $20  per 
visit.  The  two  physicians  he  appointed  called 
when  they  willed,  and  more  and  more  frequently, 
till  toward  the  end  the  calls  became  a  pure  for- 
mality, with  the  collections  as  the  one  and  only 
object. 

In  a  general  way  all  this  business  was  known. 
It  did  not  arouse  the  citizens,  but  it  did  attract 
criminals,  and  more  and  more  thieves  and  swindlers 
came  hurrying  to  Minneapolis.  Some  of  them 
saw  the  police,  and  made  terms.  Some  were  seen 
by  the  police  and  invited  to  go  to  work.  There 
was  room  for  all.  This  astonishing  fact  that  the 
government  of  a  city  asked  criminals  to  rob  the 
people  is  fully  established.  The  police  and  the 
criminals  confessed  it  separately.  Their  state- 
ments agree  in  detail.  Detective  Norbcck  made 
the  arrangements,  and  introduced  the  swindlers 
to  Gardner,  who,  over  King's  head,  took  the  money 
from  them.  Here  is  the  story  "  Billy  "  Edwards, 
a  "  big  mitt "  man,  told  under  oath  of  his  recep- 
tion in  Minneapolis: 

"  I  had  been  out  to  the  Coast,  and  hadn't  seen 
Norbeck  for  some  time.  After  I  returned  I 
boarded  a  Minneapolis  car  one  evening  to  go 


PAGE  rmoM  "THE  BIO  MITT  LEDCEI  " 

Thif  shows  an  item  concerning  the  check  for  $775,  which 
Meix  (here  spelled  Mix)  wished  not  to  hare 


76         11  IK  SHAME  OF  THE  (  II  II  S 

down  to  South  Minneapolis  to  \i-it  a  fri<  n<l.  Nor- 
l>irk  and  Detect iv«-  !)••!, ait  tiv  were  on  tin-  ear. 
\Vlirn  Norhrrk  saw  me  he  came  up  and  shook 
hands,  and  said,  'Hullo,  Hilly,  how  goes  it?'  I 
said,  'Not  very  well.'  Then  he  says,  'Things 
have  changed  since  you  went  away.  Me  and 
Gardner  arc  the  whole  thing  now.  Before  yon  1< ft 
they  thought  I  didn't  know  anything,  hut.  I  turned 
a  few  tricks,  and  now  I'm  It.'  '  I'm  glad  of  that, 
Chris,'  I  said.  He  says, '  I've  got  great  things  for 
you.  I'm  going  to  fix  up  a  joint  for  you.' 
'  That's  good,'  I  said, 4  but  I  don't  believe  you  can 
do  it.'  '  Oh,  yes,  I  can,'  he  replied.  '  I'm  It  now 
— Gardner  and  me.'  '  Well,  if  you  can  do  it,'  says 
I,  '  there's  money  in  it.'  '  How  much  can  you 
pay?  '  he  asked.  '  Oh,  $150  or  $200  a  week,'  says 
I.  '  That  settles  it,'  he  said ;  '  I'll  take  you  down 
to  see  Gardner,  and  we'll  fix  it  up.'  Then  he  made 
an  appointment  to  meet  me  the  next  night,  and 
we  went  down  to  Gardner's  house  together." 

There  Gardner  talked  business  in  general, 
showed  his  drawer  full  of  bills,  and  jokingly  asked 
how  Edwards  would  like  to  have  them.  Edwards 
says: 

"  I  said,  '  That  looks  pretty  good  to  me,'  and 
Gardner  told  us  that  he  had  '  collected  '  the  money 
from  the  women  he  had  on  his  staff,  and  that  he 
was  going  to  pay  it  over  to  the  '  old  man '  when 


% 
JfVj 


l»# 


FACE   FBOM       THE    BIO    MITT  LEDGEB 

This  shows  the  accounts  for  a  week  of  small  transactions. 


7s       Tin:  SIIAMI:  or  Tin:  CITIES 

lie  got  back  from  hi>  hunting  trip  in-\t  morning. 
Afterward  he  told  me  that  tin-  mayor  had  been 
much  plea^d  with  our  $500,  and  that  lie  said 
(  \.  r\  tiling  \\as  all  ri<rht,  and  for  us  to  go  ahead." 

M  Link  "  Crossman,  another  confidence  man  uho 
was  with  Kdwardx.  said  that  (iardner  demanded 
$1,000  at  first,  but  compromised  on  $500  for  tin- 
mayor,  $50  for  Gardner,  and  $50  for  Norbeck. 
To  the  chief,  Fred  Ames,  they  gave  tips  now  and 
then  of  $25  or  $50.  "  The  first  week  we  ran," 
said  Grossman,  "  I  gave  Fred  $15.  Norbeck 
took  me  down  there.  We  shook  hands,  and  I 
handed  him  an  envelope  with  $15.  He  pulled  out 
a  list  of  steerers  we  had  sent  him,  and  said  he 
wanted  to  go  over  them  with  me.  He  asked  where 
the  joint  was  located.  At  another  time  I  slipped 
$25  into  his  hand  as  he  was  standing  in  the  hall- 
way of  City  Hall."  But  these  smaller  payments, 
after  the  first  "  opening,  $500,"  are  all  down  on 
the  pages  of  the  "  big  mitt  "  ledger,  photographs 
of  which  illuminate  this  article.  This  notorious 
book,  which  was  kept  by  Charlie  Howard,  one  of 
the  "  big  mitt "  men,  was  much  talked  of  at  the 
subsequent  trials,  but  was  kept  hidden  to  await 
the  trial  of  the  mayor  himself. 

The  "  big  mitt "  game  was  swindling  by  means 
of  a  stacked  hand  at  stud  poker.  "  Steerers  " 
and  "  boosters  "  met  "  suckers  "  on  the  street,  at 


I  ill.  -II  \M1.  or  Ml  \\l..\TOLIS      79 

lilway  stations,  won  .nfidencc, 

and    l.-.l    them    i  IJimally    the 

44  sucker  "  was  called,  l»\    tin-  amount  of  bis  lost, 

"  the   $102-1.  tin-    •?:*:,  i; 

.    alone   had   the   distinction    among   all    the 
iea  polls  victims  of  going  by  his  own  name. 
Having  lost  $775,  he  tx>  own  for  his  per- 

sistent complainings.  Hut  they  all  "kicked" 
some.  To  Detective  Norbeck  at  the  street  door 
was  assigned  the  duty  of  hearing  their  complaints, 
and  "throwing  a  scare  into  them."  **  Oh,  so 
you've  been  gambling,"  he  would  say.  "  Har* 
you  got  a  license?  Well,  thru,  you  better  get 
ri^ht  out  of  this  town."  Sometimes  he  accom- 
panied tlu  in  to  the  station  and  saw  them  off.  If 
to  In-  put  off  thus,  he  directed  them 
to  tlu-  chief  of  police.  Fred  Ames  tried  to  wear 
them  out  by  keeping  them  waiting  in  the  ante- 
room. If  they  outlasted  him,  he  saw  them  and 
itened  them  with  threats  of  all  sorts  of  trouble 
for  gambling  without  a  license.  Meix  wanted  to 
have  payment  on  hi*  check  stopped.  Ames,  who 
had  been  a  bank  cl«-rk,  told  him  of  \\i^  banking  ex- 
;  .  and  then  had  the  effrontery  to  say  that 

pay IIM  iit  on  such  a  check  could  not  be  stopp. 

Burglaries  were  common.  How  many  the  police 
planned  may  never  be  known.  Charles  F. 
Drackett  and  Fred  Malone,  police  captains  and  de- 


80        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

were  active,  and  one  well-established  crime 
of  theirs  is  the  robbery  of  the  Pabst  Brewing  Com- 
pany office.  They  persuaded  two  men,  one  an 
employee,  to  learn  the  combination  of  the  safe, 
open  and  clean  it  out  one  night,  while  the  two 
officers  stood  guard  outside. 

The  excesses  of  the  municipal  administration 
became  so  notorious  that  some  of  the  members  of 
it  n  inonstrated  with  the  others,  and  certain  county 
officers  were  genuinely  alarmed.  No  restraint  fol- 
lowed tlu'ir  warnings.  Sheriff  Megaarden,  no 
Puritan  himself,  felt  constrained  to  interfere,  and 
he  made  some  arrests  of  gamblers.  The  Ames 
people  turned  upon  him  in  a  fury;  they  accused 
him  of  making  overcharges  in  his  accounts  with 
the  county  for  fees,  and,  laying  the  evidence  be- 
fore Governor  Van  Sant,  they  had  Megaarden 
removed  from  office.  Ames  offered  bribes  to  two 
county  commissioners  to  appoint  Gardner  sheriff, 
so  as  to  be  sure  of  no  more  trouble  in  that  quarter. 
This  move  failed,  but  the  lesson  taught  Megaarden 
served  to  clear  the  atmosphere,  and  the  spoliation 
went  on  as  recklessly  as  ever.  It  became  impos- 
sible. 

Even  lawlessness  must  be  regulated.  Dr.  Ames, 
never  an  organizer,  attempted  no  control,  and  his 
followers  began  to  quarrel  among  themselves. 
They  deceived  one  another;  they  robbed  the 


'I  in  -II  \MI.  OF  MINNEAPOLIS 
.  »•§;  they  robbed  Ames  himself.  His  brother 
became  dissatisfied  with  his  share  of  the  spoil*,  and 
formed  cabals  with  captains  who  plotted  against 
the  admini.st ration  and  set  up  disorderly  houses, 
"  panel  games,"  and  all  sorts  of  u  graf U  »  of  their 
own. 

The  one  man  loyal   t<>  tl,,-   mayor  was  Gard- 

I         I  Ames,  Captain  Kin^,  and  th.ir  pals 
fall  of  the  favorite.     Now  anybody 
\  thin^  from   Hi- 
have  him  alon« .     '1'!,.-   Fred  Ames  cl  »*e  a 

whni  the  mayor  was  at  West  Bad 
filled  him  with  suspicion  of  Gardner  and  the  fear 

•  I    him    to    let    a   nvntmv 
named  **  Reddy  "  Cohen,  instead  of  Gar 

moneys,  not 

•Iy,    hut    through    Fnd.      Gardner    made    A 

touching  appeal  l>een  honest.     I  have 

paid  you  all/'  In-  s.-iid  to  thr  mayor.     "Fred  and 

st  \\ill  rob  you."     This  was  true,  but  it  was 

d  Ames  was  in  charge  at  last,  and  he  him- 

went    about    giving    notice   of    tin-    change. 

Three  detectives  were  with  him  u!  1  tlio 

women,  and  !n-rv  is  the  women's  story,  in  the  v 

of  one,  as  it  was  told  again  and  again  in  court: 

44  Colonel  Ames  came  in  with  th  'vis.     Ho 

;>cd  into  a  side  room  and  asked  me  if  I  had  been 


82      Tin:  SIIAMI;  OF  Tin.  CITIES 

paying  Gardner.  I  told  him  I  had,  and  he  told 
me  not  to  pay  no  more,  but  to  come  to  his  office 
later,  and  he  would  let  me  know  what  to  do.  I 
went  to  the  City  Hall  in  about  three  weeks,  after 
Cohen  had  called  and  said  he  was  *  the  party.'  I 
asked  the  chief  if  it  was  all  right  to  pay  Cohen, 
and  he  said  it  was." 

The  new  arrangement  did  not  work  so  smoothly 
as  the  old.  Cohen  was  an  oppressive  collector, 
and  Fred  Ames,  appealed  to,  was  weak  and  lenient. 
He  had  no  sure  hold  on  the  force.  His  captains, 
free  of  Gardner,  were  undermining  the  chief.  They 
increased  their  private  operations.  Some  of  the 
detectives  began  to  drink  hard  and  neglect  their 
work.  Norbeck  so  worried  the  "  big  mitt  "  men 
by  staying  away  from  the  joint,  that  they  com- 
plained to  Fred  about  him.  The  chief  rebuked 
Norbeck,  and  he  promised  to  "  do  better,"  but 
thereafter  he  was  paid,  not  by  the  week,  but  by 
piece  work — so  much  for  each  "  trimmed  sucker  " 
that  he  ran  out  of  town.  Protected  swindlers  \v»  re 
arrested  for  operating  in  the  street  by  "  Coffee 
John's  "  new  policemen,  who  took  the  places  of 
the  negligent  detectives.  Fred  let  the  indignant 
prisoners  go  when  they  were  brought  before  him, 
but  the  arrests  were  annoying,  inconvenient,  and 
disturbed  business.  The  whole  system  became  so 
demoralized  that  every  man  was  for  himself.  There 


mi.  -ii  \MI.  or  \n\M..\rou8    ss 

was  not  left  even  the   t.  il   honor  among 

It  wa«  at  this  juiictim-,  in  April,  190*.  that 
the  grand  jury  for  the  summer  term  was  drawn. 
An  ordinary  body  of  undetected  citiiens,  it  re- 
ceived no  sp*>  :n  the  bencli ;  t}.«- 
ty  pro.sioitor  «  '  only  routine  work 
to  do.  But  there  was  a  man  among  them  who 
was  a  fighter — the  foreman,  ll..\.v  C.  Clarke. 
He  was  of  an  old  New  England  family.  Coming 

to     Minneapolis     ulim     a     \«>un^     man,     srventrrn 
years    before,    he    hud    fought    for   employ: 
fought    u  ,-n»  for  position,  fought 

with  his  employees,  the   lumber  Jacks,  for  com- 
mand, fought  for  his  company  against  competi- 
tors; and  )><   had  won  always,  till  now  he  had  t  In- 
habit of  command,  tin-  impatient,  imperious  man- 
"f  the  master,  and  the  assurance  of  success 
which  begets  it.     He  did  not  want  to  be  a  grand 
Mian,  he  did  not  want  to  be  a  foreman;  but 
was  both,  he  wanted  to  accomplish  some- 
thing. 

Why  not  rip  up  tin  Ames  gang?  Heads 
shook,  hands  went  up;  it  was  useless  to  try.  The 
discouragement  find  Clarke.  That  was  just 
what  he  would  do,  he  said,  and  lu-  took  stock  of 
his  jury.  Two  or  three  u  D  with  back- 

bone; that  he  knew,  and  he  quuklv  had  them  with 


84      Tin-:  si i AMI;  OF  THE  CITIES 

liiin.  The  rest  were  all  sorts  of  men.  Mr. 
Clarke  won  over  each  man  to  himself,  mid  inter- 
ested  them  all.  Then  he  called  for  the  county 
prosecutor.  The  prosecutor  was  a  politician;  lie 
knew  the  Ames  crowd;  they  were  too  powerful  to 
attack. 

k'  You  are  excused,"  said  the  foreman. 

There  was  a  scene;  the  prosecutor  knew  his 
rights. 

"  Do  you  think,  Mr.  Clarke,"  he  cried,  "  that 
you  can  run  the  grand  jury  and  my  office,  too?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Clarke,  "  I  will  run  your  office  if 
I  want  to;  and  I  want  to.  You're  excused." 

Mr.  Clarke  does  not  talk  much  about  his 
doings  that  summer;  he  isn't  the  talking  sort. 
But  he  does  say  that  all  he  did  was  to  apply 
simple  business  methods  to  his  problem.  In 
action,  however,  these  turned  out  to  be  the  most 
approved  police  methods.  He  hired  a  lot  of 
local  detectives  who,  he  knew,  would  talk  about 
what  they  were  doing,  and  thus  would  be  watched 
by  the  police.  Having  thus  thrown  a  false 
scent,  he  hired  some  other  detectives  whom  no- 
body knew  about.  This  was  expensive;  so  w« •re- 
many  of  the  other  things  he  did;  but  he  was 
bound  to  win,  so  he  paid  the  price,  drawing  fm-1  y 
on  his  own  and  his  colleagues'  pockets.  (The 
total  cost  to  the  county  for  a  long  summer's 


•i  in:  -ii  \MI.  <>r  \n\\i  ypOUB     85 

work  by  jury  was  $859.)      Wit! 

detectives  out,  In-  him»elf  went  to  the  jail  to  get 
i   the   inside,   from  criminal*  who,  being 

,  mutt  have  grievamvs.  He  made  the  ac- 
(juaintuncr  of  the  jailer,  Captain  Alexander,  and 

mder  wa*  a  friend  of  Sheriff  Megaarclen. 
Yes,  he  had  some  men  there  who  were  "sore" 
and  illicit  want  to  get  «  • 

Now  two  of  these  were  **  bi#  mitt"  men  who 
had  worked  foi  (i.-mln.  r.  <  >M.  WM  "  Hilly"  Ed- 
wards, ti  Cheerful  Churl  *  ard. 

.ird  too  many  explanations  of  their   plight 

to   clmosr   any    one  ;   this    ^i-IHT:il    account    will   « 

tin-    ground:     In    tin-    Aim--,    :  .       thrr  by   mis- 

take, neglect,  or  for  spite  growing  out  of  the 
network  of  conHittin^  interests  and  gangs,  they 
were  arrested  and  arraigned,  not  before  Fred  Ames, 
hut  before  a  judge,  and  held  in  hail  too  high  for 
tin-in  to  furnish.  Th«-y  had  paid  for  an  unex- 
pired  period  of  protection,  yet  could  get  neither 
protection  nor  bail.  They  were  forgotten.  '  \\ 
got  the  double  cross  all  ri^ht,"  they  said,  and 
they  bled  with  their  grievance;  but  squeal,  no, 
sir! — that  was  "another  deal." 

Hut    Mr.   Clarke  had  their  story,  and  he  was 

bound  to  force  them  to  tell  it  under  oath  on  the 

!.      If  they  did,  (lardner  and  Norbeck  would 

be    indicted,    tried,    and    probably    convicted.      In 


s(>       TIM:  SIIAMI:  or  THE  CITIES 

themselves,  these  men  were  of  no  great  in 
tance;  but  they  wen-  the  key  to  the  .situation,  and 
a  way  up  to  the  mayor.  It  was  worth  trying. 
Mr.  Clarke  went  into  the  jail  with  Messrs.  Lester 
Elwood  and  Willard  J.  Hicld,  grand  jurors  on 
whom  he  relied  most  for  delicate  work.  Th«  y 
stood  by  while  the  foreman  talked.  And  the 
foreman's  way  of  talking  was  to  smile,  s\ 
threaten,  and  cajole.  "  Billy  "  Edwards  told  me 
afterwards  that  he  and  Howard  were  finally  per- 
suaded to  turn  State's  evidence,  Ixrau^  they  be- 
lieved that  Mr.  Clarke  was  the  kind  of  a  man  to 
keep  his  promises  and  fulfill  his  threats.  "We," 
he  said,  meaning  criminals  generally,  "  are  al- 
ways stacking  up  against  juries  and  lawyers  who 
want  us  to  holler.  We  don't,  because  we  see  they 
ain't  wise,  and  won't  get  there.  They're  quit- 
ters ;  they  can  be  pulled  off.  Clarke  has  a  hard 
eye.  I  know  men.  It's  my  business  to  size  'em 
up,  and  I  took  him  for  a  winner,  and  I  played 
in  with  him  against  that  whole  big  bunch  of  easy 
things  that  was  running  things  on  the  bum/" 
The  grand  jury  was  ready  at  the  end  of  three 
weeks  of  hard  work  to  find  bills.  A  prosecutor 
was  needed.  The  public  prosecutor  was  being 
ignored,  but  his  first  assistant  and  friend,  Al  J. 
Smith,  was  taken  in  hand  by  Mr.  Clarke.  Smith 
hesitated;  he  knew  better  even  than  the  foreman 


I  ill  -II  \ME  OF  \II\\l  \POLIS  87 
power  and  resources  of  the  Ames  gang.  But 
he  came  to  believe  in  Mr.  Clarke,  ju*t  as  Ed- 
wards had;  he  was  sure  the  foreman  would  win; 
•o  he  went  over  to  his  side,  and,  having  once  de- 
cided, he  led  the  open  fighting,  and,  alone  in 
t,  won  cases  against  men  who  had  the  best 
lawyers  in  the  State  to  defend  them.  Hi*  court 
record  is  extraordin/u  M  -.  h.  took  over 

negotiations  with  rrimiimls  for  evidence, 
Messrs,  (lark.,  II:.  M,  KUood,  and  the  other 
jurors  providing  means  and  moral  support. 
These  were  needed.  Hriln's  were  offered  to 
Smith:  he  was  thrc/it.n.d.  he  was  called  a  fool. 
But  so  was  Clark. -,  to  whom  $28,000  was  offered 
to  quit,  and  for  whose  slaughter  a  slugger  was 
hired  i  i^o.  What  start U-d  the 

most,  however,  was  the  character  of  the  citi- 
zens who  were  sent  to  them  to  dissuade  them  from 

course.  No  reform  I  ever  studied  has  failed 
to  bring  out  this  phenomenon  of  virtuous  cow- 
ardice, the  baseness  of  the  decent  citizen. 

•hintf  .stopp.-d  tl»i>  jurv,  howrvt  r.  They 
had  courage.  Thrv  in<  >  irdner,  Norbeck, 

Fred  Ames,  and  many  lesser  persons.  But  tin- 
gang  had  courage,  too,  and  raised  a  defense  fund 
ke.  Mayor  Ames  was  defiant.  Once, 
ul,n  Mr  l  dKd  at  tin-  City  Hull,  the 

mayor  met  and  challenged  him.  The  ma 


ss        THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
heelers    were    all    about    him,    but    Clarke     faced 
him. 

"  Yes,  Doc  Ames,  I'm  after  you,"  he  said. 
"  I've  been  in  this  town  for  seventeen  years,  and 
all  that  time  you've  been  a  moral  leper.  I  hear 
you  were  rotten  during  the  ten  years  before  that. 
Now  I'm  going  to  put  you  where  all  contagious 
things  are  put — where  you  cannot  contaminate 
anybody  else." 

The  trial  of  Gardner  came  on.  Efforts  had 
been  made  to  persuade  him  to  surrender  the 
mayor,  but  the  young  man  was  paid  $15,000  "  to 
stand  pat,"  and  he  went  to  trial  and  conviction 
silent.  Other  trials  followed  fast — Norb«V>, 
Fred  Ames's,  Chief  of  Detectives  Kind's.  Wit- 
nesses who  were  out  of  the  State  were  needed,  and 
true  testimony  from  women.  There  was  no 
county  money  for  extradition,  so  the  grand 
jurors  paid  these  costs  also.  They  had  Meix  fol- 
lowed from  Michigan  down  to  Mexico  and  back  to 
Idaho,  where  they  got  him,  and  he  was  presented 
in  court  one  day  at  the  trial  of  Norbeck,  who  had 
"  steered  "  him  out  of  town.  Norbeck  thought 
Meix  was  a  thousand  miles  away,  and  had  been 
bold  before.  At  the  sight  of  him  in  court  he 
started  to  his  feet,  and  that  night  ran  away.  The 
jury  spent  more  money  in  his  pursuit,  and  they 
caught  him.  He  confessed,  but  his  evidence  was 


Till.    SII  \M1  INM    \I'(.I  I-        -i 

not  <>  He  was  sentenced  to  three  ycnr-  in 

'•   prison.      Mrn   caved   all    around,   hut    th«- 

n  were  firm,  lir-t  trial  of  Fred  Ames 

<1.    To  break  the  women's  faith  in  th.    rm^, 

Mayor  Ames  was  in 

HVC  Gardner  made  sheriff — a   ;.  .hut 

not  the  best  case  against  him.     It  hmu-lit   th.- 

•  MII  to  tin-  truth,  and  Fred  Ames,  re- t 
was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  six  and  a  half 
years  in  State's  prison.  King  was  tried  for  acces- 
sory to  felon \  MJT  in  tin-  theft  of  a  diamond, 
which  he  afterward  stole  from  t  .es),  and 
sentenced  to  three  and  a  half  years  in  prison. 
And  -till  tin-  indictments  came,  with  trials  follow- 
fast.  Al  Smith  resigned  with  tin-  consent 
and  thanks  of  the  grand  jury;  h  .  who  was 
to  run  for  the  same  office  again,  wanted  to  try  the 
rest  of  the  cases,  and  he  did  very  well. 

All  m<  n  ucre  now  on  the  side  of  law  and  order. 

I        ;  _:  the  "grafters"  was  laughable, 

in  spite  of  its  hideous  significance.    Two  heads  of 

departments    against    whom    nothing    had    been 

i  Mid. I.  iily  ran  away,  and  thus  suggested  to 

ur.ind    jury    an    inquiry    which    revealed    an- 

<»f  "  jrraft,"  in   the  sale  of  supplies 

to  puhlic  institutions  and  t!  ion  of  great 

quantities  of  profiaioiM  t<>  the  private  residences 

of  the  mayor  and  other  officials.     Mayor  Ames, 


90        THE  SHAME  OF  Till     CITIES 

under  indictment  and  heavy  bornN  for  «  \tnrt  ion, 
conspiracy,  and  bribe-offering,  left  the  State  on 
n  night  train;  a  gentleman  who  knew  him  by 
sight  saw  him  sitting  up  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
smoking-room  of  the  sleeping-car,  an  unlightcd 
cigar  in  his  mouth,  his  face  a-h< -u  and  drawn,  and 
at  six  o'clock  the  next  morning  he  still  was  sitting 
time,  his  cigar  still  unlightcd.  He  went  to  West 
Baden,  a  health  resort  in  Indiana,  a  sick  and 
broken  man,  aging  years  in  a  month.  The  city 
was  without  a  mayor,  the  ring  was  without  a 
leader;  cliques  ruled,  and  they  pictured  one  an- 
other hanging  about  the  grand-jury  room  beg- 
ging leave  to  turn  State's  evidence.  Tom  Brown, 
the  mayor's  secretary,  was  in  the  mayor's  chair; 
across  the  hall  sat  Fred  Ames,  the  chief  of  police, 
balancing  Brown's  light  weight.  Both  were  busy 
forming  cliques  within  the  ring.  Brown  had  on 
his  side  Coffee  John  and  Police  Captain  Hill. 
Ames  had  Captain  "Norm"  King  (though  he 
had  been  convicted  and  had  resigned),  Captain 
Krumweide,  and  Ernest  Wheelock,  the  chief's  sec- 
retary. Alderman  D.  Percy  Jones,  the  president 
of  the  council,  an  honorable  man,  should  have 
taken  the  chair,  but  he  was  in  the  East;  so  this 
unstable  equilibrium  was  all  the  city  had  by  way 
of  a  government. 

Then     Fred    Ames     disappeared.     The     Tom 


I  111     SI1  \M1.   u|     \Ii\\i    M'OMS       1)1 
Brown  clique  had  full  sway,  and  took  over  the 

t  inent.  This  was  a  shock  to  every- 
body, to  none  more  than  to  tin-  King  clique, 
nine  I  :  in  the  search  for  Aim*.  An  n 

man,  Fred  M.  Powers,  who  was  to  run  for  mayor 
«.ii  t  B  ihlican  tukrt,  tm,k  charge  of  tin- 
major9!  office,  but  he  was  not  sure  of  his  au- 

nr  as  to  his  poll-  md  jury 

was  the  real  pow  <1  him,  and  tin-  foreman 

was   telegraphing    f<  man   Jones.     Mean- 

•|ue»  wen    n i.i king  appeals  to  Mayor 

Ames,  in  West  Baden,  and  each  sid.   that  saw  him 

\ed  autlmrity  to  do  its  will.    The  Coffee  John 

flujue,  (K-iiird  admission  to  the  grand-jury  room, 

turned  to  Alderman  Powers,  and  were  beginning 

to  feel  secure,  wlu-n  tin  \    In -an  I  red  Ames 

was  coming  hack.     They  rushed  around,  and  ob- 

(i  an  assurann    tiom   t!  I  mayor  that 

I  was  returning  only  to  resign.     Fred — now 

until  r    coimrtion      n  tunnel,    hut    he    did    not    re- 

>ign ;  supported  by  his   friends,  he   took  charge 

again  of  the  police  force.     Coffee  John  besought 

>wers  to  remove  tlu-  chief,  and  wh«-n 
the  acting  mayor  proved  himself  too  timid,  Coffee 
John,  Tom  Brown,  and  Captain  Hill  laid  a  deep 

would  ask  Mayor  Ames  to  remove  his 
hrotlur.  This  they  felt  >ure  they  could  persuade 
the  uold  man"  to  do.  The  difficulty  was  to 


93        THK  SHAME  OF  Till;  CITIES 

him  from  changing  his  mind  when  the  other 
side  should  rearh  his  car.  They  hit  upon  a  hold 
expedient.  Thrv  would  urgi1  thr  "old  man"  to 
remove  Fred,  and  then  resign  himself,  so  that  he 
could  not  undo  the  deed  that  they  wanted  done. 
Coffee  John  and  Captain  Hill  slipped  out  of 
town  one  night  ;  they  reached  West  Baden  on  one 
train  and  they  left  for  home  on  the  next,  with  a 
demand  for  Fred's  resignation  in  one  hand  and 
the  mayor's  own  in  the  other.  Fred  Anus  did 
resign,  and  though  the  mayor's  resignation  was 
laid  aside  for  a  while,  to  avoid  the  «  of  a 

special  election,  all  looked  well  for  Coffee  John 
and  his  clique.  They  had  Fred  out,  and  Alderman 
Powers  was  to  make  them  great.  But  Mr.  Tow- 
ers wabbled.  No  doubt  the  grand  jury  spoke  to 
him.  At  any  rate  he  turned  most  unexpectedly 
on  both  cliques  together.  He  turned  out  Tom 
Brown,  but  he  turned  out  also  Coffee  John,  and 
he  did  not  make  their  man  chief  of  police,  but  an- 
other of  someone  else's  selection.  A  number  of 
resignations  was  the  result,  and  these  the  acting 
mayor  accepted,  making  a  clearing  of  astonished 
rascals  which  was  very  gratifying  to  the  grand 
jury  and  to  the  nervous  citizens  of  Minne- 
apolis. 

But  the  town  was  not  yet  easy.  The  grand  jury, 
which  was  the  actual  head  of  the  government,  was 


I  111.  HI  AMI.  n|  M1\M  M'ul  1-  "  • 
about  to  be  discharged,  and,  beside-.,  th.-ir  work 
was  dcstnutiM.  A  constructive  force  wa*  now 
needed,  and  Alderman  Jones  was  pelted  with  tel- 
egrams t  Mg  him  hurry  back.  II- 
did  hurry,  and  when  he  arrived,  tin-  i  was 
instantly  in  control.  The  grand  jury  prepared  to 
report,  for  the  city  had  a  mind  and  a  will  of 
its  own  once  more.  The  criminals  found  it  out 
last. 

Percy    Jones,    as    hi-    hi- ml*    call    him,    is    of 
M-conil   generation   of   his    family    in   Minne- 
apolis.    His  fat!  «1  him  \vrll  to  do,  ami  h<- 

'1C  WaS  Start.  ,1.       Collr^r  i 

uatc  and  business  man,  he  has  a  conscience  whirl), 

i  is  brains  enough  to  question.  1 
not  the  fighter,  hut  th<-  slow,  sure  executive.  As 
an  alderman  he  is  the  result  of  a  movement  begun 
several  years  ago  by  some  young  men  who  were 
inccd  by  an  exposure  of  a  corrupt  municipal 
eouneil  that  they  should  go  into  politics.  A  few 

did  go  in ;  Jones  was  one  of  these  few. 

Tlu-  acting  mayor  was  confronted  at  once  with 
all  the  hardest  problems  of  municipal  government, 
rose  right  up  to  tempt  or  to  fight  him.  He 
stinli.-.l  tli.  situation  deliberately,  and  by  and  by 
began  to  settle  it  point  by  point,  slowly  but 
finally,  against  all  sorts  of  opposition.  One  of 
his  first  acts  was  to  remove  all  the  proved  rascals 


94        THE  SHAME  OF  Till-    CITIES 

on  tin-  force,  putting  in  their  places  mm  who  had 
been  removed  by  Mayor  Ames.  Another  impor- 
tant step  was  the  appointment  of  a  church  deacon 
and  personal  friend  to  he  chief  of  police,  this  on 
the  theory  that  he  wanted  at  the  head  of  his 
police  a  man  who  could  have  no  sympathy  with 
crime,  a  man  whom  he  could  implicitly  trust.  Dis- 
orderly houses,  forbidden  by  law,  were  permitted, 
but  only  within  certain  patrol  lines,  and  they 
were  to  pay  nothing,  in  either  blackmail  or 
"  fines."  The  number  and  the  standing  and  the 
point  of  view  of  the  "  good  people  "  who  opposed 
this  order  was  a  lesson  to  Mr.  Jones  in  practical 
government.  One  very  prominent  citi/en  and 
church  member  threatened  him  for  driving  women 
out  of  two  flats  owned  by  him;  the  rent  was  t In- 
surest  means  of  "  support  for  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren." Mr.  Jones  enforced  his  order. 

Other  interests — saloon-keepers,  brewers,  etc.— 
gave  him  trouble  enough,  but  all  these  were  trifles 
in  comparison  with  his  experience  with  the  gam- 
blers. They  represented  organized  crime,  and  they 
asked  for  a  hearing.  Mr.  Jones  gave  them  some 
six  weeks  for  negotiations.  They  proposed  a  solu- 
tion. They  said  that  if  he  would  let  them  (a  syn- 
dicate) open  four  gambling  places  downtown, 
they  would  see  that  no  others  ran  in  any  part  of 
the  city.  Mr.  Jones  pondered  and  shook  his  head, 


i  ill.  -ii  VMI:  01    MI\\I. \POUS     95 

draw  (i.     They  went  away,  and  came 

rhou^h  • 

the  associates  of  criminal*,  tin  \    km  »    that  class 
.u:. I  Him  pUns.     No  hoi  .  unaided, 

i  «l..il  w:th  .  Thieve*  would  soon  be  at 

work  again,  and  what  could  Mr.  Jones  do  against 
th    a  po  roe   headed   by    a    church 

deacon  '    The  ^amhliTS  offered  to  control  the  crim 
inals  for  tl, 

Mr.  Jones,  deeply   interested,  declared 
not  Iwliexe  there  was  any  danger  of  fresh  crimes. 
l        -ainhh  !-s  n  i  went  away.     By  an  odd 

r  that  what 

tin-  papers  called  **  an  epidemic  of  crime."     Tin  v 
were  p«  t  .  hut  they  occupied  the  mind  <>i' 

the  acting  mayor.      II<    wondered  at  their  oppor- 
ttin.  n.  >N.     H,   \\ oiid.  red  how  the  news  of  them  got 

out. 

Tit.    ^unlilers  soon  reappeared.     H.-idn't    • 
told  m  crinir  would  soon  be  prevalent   in 

town  again?  They  had,  ind««d,  hut  the  mayor 
Was  uiiino\.-d  ;  M  porch  climhers"  could  not  frighten 
him.  Hut  this  was  onlv  the  he^iiniin^c,  the  gam- 
blers said:  the  larger  crimes  would  \t.  And 
they  went  away  again.  Sure  enough,  the  large 
crimes  rame.  One,  two,  three  burglaries  of  jewelry 
in  the  houses  of  well-known  people  occurred; 
there  wu>  a  fourth,  and  the  fourth  vsa>,  in  the 


96       THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

house  of  a  relative  of  the  acting  mayor.  He  was 
seriously  amused.  Tlu«  papers  had  tlu  m-\\s 
promptly,  and  not  from  tin-  police. 

The  gamblers  called  again.  If  they  could  have 
the  exclusive  control  of  gambling  in  Minneapolis, 
tlu -y  would  do  all  that  they  had  promised  before, 
and,  if  any  large  burglaries  occurred,  they  would 
undertake  to  recover  the  "  swag,"  and  sometimes 
catch  the  thief.  Mr.  Jones  was  skeptical  of  their 
ability  to  do  all  this.  The  gamblers  offered  to 
prove  it.  How?  They  would  get  back  for  Mr. 
Jones  the  jewelry  recently  reported  stolen  from 
four  houses  in  town.  Mr.  Jones  expressed  a  curi- 
osity to  see  this  done,  and  the  gamblers  went  away. 
After  a  few  days  the  stolen  jewelry,  parcel  by 
parcel,  began  to  return;  with  all  due  police-crim- 
inal mystery  it  was  delivered  to  the  chief  of 
police. 

When  the  gamblers  called  again,  they  found 
the  acting  mayor  ready  to  give  his  decision  on 
their  propositions.  It  was  this:  There  should  be 
no  gambling,  with  police  connivance,  in  the  city  of 
Minneapolis  during  his  term  of  office. 

Mr.  Jones  told  me  that  if  he  had  before  him  a 
long  term,  he  certainly  would  reconsider  tliis 
answer.  He  believed  he  would  decide  again  as  he 
had  already,  but  he  would  at  least  give  studious  re- 
flection to  the  question — Can  a  city  be  governed 


i  in.  -ii  \MI:  or  \u\\i  vi'oi  i-      B7 

without   any   ulliaiin-  uitli  rrim<  '      It    wiifi  an  open 

I 

months  of  hi*  emergency  adn  Minm-- 

apolin  should  be  clean  and  K\N  A  hil«» 

at  least,  and  the  new  adminutration  should  begin 
a  clear  deck. 


THE  S1IAMELESSXESS5  UJ     S'J     Lol  1- 


1111     M1AMELESSNESS   OF  ST.   LOUIS 


classic  question,  "  What    are   von 
to  do  about  it?  "  is  the  must  humiliating  chal! 

1  h\  tin-  One  Man  to  tin-  Many.  Hut 
it  was  pert  in.  nt.  It  was  the  question  then;  it  is 
tin-  question  now.  Will  tin-  people  rule?  That  is 
what  it  means.  Is  democracy  possible?  The  ac- 
counts of  financial  corruption  in  St.  Louis  and  of 
police  corruption  in  Minneapolis  raised  the  same 
question.  They  wen-  inquiries  into  American  mu- 
nicipal democracy,  and,  so  far  as  they  went,  they 
were  pretty  complete  answers.  The  people 
wouldn't  riili».  They  would  have  flown  to  arms  to 
resist  a  czar  or  a  king,  but  they  let  a  "  mucker  " 
oppress  and  disgrace  and  sill  them  out.  "  Neg- 
*  so  they  de>crihe  their  impotence.  But  when 
their  shame  was  laid  bare,  what  did  they  do  then? 
That  is  what  Tweed,  the  tyrant,  wanted  to  know, 
and  that  is  what  the  democracy  of  this  country 
needs  to  know. 

Minneapolis    answered    Tweed.     With    Mayor 
Ames  a  fugitive,  the  city  was  reformed,  and  when 
he  was  brought  back  he  was  tried  and  convicted. 
101 


102  THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
No  city  ever  profited  so  promptly  by  the  lesson 
of  its  sluime.  The  people  had  nothing  to  do  with 
tlu  exposure — that  was  an  accident — nor  with  the 
reconstruction.  Hovey  C.  Clarke,  who  attacked 
the  Ames  ring,  tore  it  all  to  pieces ;  and  D.  Percy 
Jones,  who  re-established  the  city  government, 
built  a  well-nigh  perfect  thing.  There  was  little 
left  for  the  people  to  do  but  choose  at  the  next 
regular  election  between  two  candidates  for  mayor, 
one  obviously  better  than  the  other,  but  that  they 
did  do.  They  ^scratched  some  ten  thousand  ballots 
to  do  their  small  part  decisively  and  well.  So  much 
by  way  of  revolt.  The  future  will  bring  Minne- 
apolis up  to  the  real  test.  The  men  who  saved  the 
city  this  time  have  organized  to  keep  it  safe,  and 
make  the  memory  of  "  Doc  "  Ames  a  civic  treas- 
ure, and  Minneapolis  a  city  without  reproach. 

Minneapolis  may  fail,  as  New  York  has  failed: 
but  at  least  these  two  cities  could  be  moved  by 
shame.  Not  so  St.  Louis.  Joseph  W.  Folk,  the 
Circuit  Attorney,  who  began  alone,  is  going  right 
on  alone,  indicting,  trying,  convicting  boodlers, 
high  and  low,  following  the  workings  of  the  com- 
bine through  all  of  its  startling  ramifications,  and 
spreading  before  the  people,  in  the  form  of  testi- 
mony given  under  oath,  the  confessions  by  the 
boodlers  themselves  of  the  whole  wretched  story. 
St.  Louis  is  unmoved  and  unashamed.  St.  Louis 


BHAMELE88NE88  OF  8T.  LOUIS    108 

MODS  to  me  to  be  something  n. -w  in  tin-  history  of 
;o\,  nuiM-nt  of  the  people,  by  the  rascal- 
ifh. 

"  Tweed  Days  in  St.   Louis"  did  not  Ml  half 

I  !is  know  of  tin-  condition   of 

tin-    C  ';,.        ri.;it     art  id.-    d,  H  ,,w    in    1898, 

1899,    and    1900,    under    the    administ ration    of 

in,   boodlin^    d.  \.  lop,  d    into    tlic 

only  real  business  of  tin-  city  jrovi -rnnu-nt.      - 

.  !«•  was  written,  fourtrru  ini-ii  have  been 
.   .md   half  a  score  have  confessed,  so  that 
some  measure  of  the  magnitude  of  the  business 
and  of  tin    importance  of  the  interests  concerned 
has  been  given.     Th<  n  it  was  related  that  ••  com 
"  of  municipal  legislators  sold  rights,  priv- 
ileges, and   pulilic   franchises  for  their  own  indi- 
vidual profit,  and  at   n  -'«Iar  schedule  rates.     Now 

Uoodlers  have  de- 

:>i-d    the    insid,     1  !'   the  combines,   \\ith 

tln-ir  unfulfilled  plan->.  Then  we  understood  that 
these  combines  did  the  boodling.  Now  we  know 
that  they  had  a  leader,  a  boss,  who,  a  rich  man 
himself,  represented  the  financial  district  and 
prompted  the  boodling  till  the  system  burst.  We 
then  how  Mr.  Folk,  a  man  little  known,  was 
nominated  against  his  will  for  Circuit  Attorney; 
how  he  warned  the  politicians  who  named  him  ;  how 
he  proceeded  against  th-  M-  MUHC  men  as  against  or- 


104      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

din.-iry  criminals.     Now  we  have  these  men  con- 
victed. 

We  saw  Charles  H.  Turner,  the  president 
of  the  Suburban  Railway  Co.,  and  Philip  H. 
Stock,  the  secretary  of  the  St.  Louis  Brewing  Co., 
the  first  jto  "  peach,"  telling  to  the  grand  jury 
the  story  of  their  bribe  fund  of  $144,000,  put  into 
safe-deposit  vaults,  to  be  paid  to  the  legislators 
when  the  Suburban  franchise  was  granted.  St. 
Louis  has  seen  these  two  men  dashing  forth  "  like 
fire  horses,"  the  one  (Mr.  Turner)  from  the  presi- 
dency of  the  Commonwealth  Trust  Company,  the 
other  from  his  brewing  company  secretaryship,  to 
recite  again  and  again  in  the  criminal  courts  their 
miserable  story,  and  count  over  and  over  for  the 
jury  the  dirty  bills  of  that  bribe  fund.  And  when 
they  had  given  their  testimony,  and  the  boodlers 
one  after  another  were  convicted,  these  witnesses 
have  hurried  back  to  their  places  of  business  and 
the  convicts  to  their  seats  in  the  municipal  as- 
sembly. This  is  literally  true.  In  the  House  of 
Delegates  sit,  under  sentence,  as  follows:  Charles 
F.  Kelly,  two  years ;  Charles  J.  Denny,  three  years 
and  five  years ;  Henry  A.  Faulkner,  two  years ;  E. 
E.  Murrell,  State's  witness,  but  not  tried.*  Nay, 
this  House,  with  such  a  membership,  had  the  au- 
dacity last  fall  to  refuse  to  pass  an  appropriation 
*See  Post  Scriptum,  end  of  chapter. 


-I!  AMI  I  I  — NESS  OF  ST.  LOUIS    105 
M       I '-.Ik   to  go  on  with  his  investiga- 
tion and  ;  <>n  of  boodling. 

ltight  here  is  Die  point.  In  nth.  r  cities  mere 
exposure  has  been  sufficient  to  overthrow  a  corrupt 

regime.      In    St.    Louis    tin-   cnnxictinn    of   tin-  boo- 

!ons  in  control,  tin-  system  intact, 

ami   tin-  people — spectators.      It   is  these  people 

who  an-  int. Testing     th.se  people,  and  the  system 

they    ha\e    in.id.      possible. 

Tin   eomicted  boodlers  have  described  the  sys- 
tem to   me.     Then-  was  no  politics  in  it — only 
business.     The  city  of  St.  Louis  is  normal  1\    i; 
pnhli.  founded  on  tin-  home  rule  principle,  tin- 

corporation    IN  a  distinct    political   entity,   uith  no 
county  to  confuse  it.     Tl  \Iivsouri,  how- 

.   is  normally   D.-inoc-  d  the  legislature 

has  taken  political  possession  of  the  city  by  giving 
to  the  (Invcrnnr  the  appointment  of  the  Police  and 
ion  Hoards.  With  a  defective  election  law, 
the  Democratic  boss  in  the  city  became  its  abso- 
lute nil 

This  boss  is  Edward  R.  Butler,  bettor  known  as 
"Colonel  Ed,"  or  "Colonel  Butler,"  or  just 
"Boss."  He  is  an  Irishman  by  birth,  a  master 
horseshoer  by  trade,  u  good  fellow — by  nature,  at 
first,  then  by  profession.  Along  in  the  seventies, 
tthcn  he  still  wore  the  apron  of  his  trade,  and 
bossed  his  tough  ward,  he  secured  the  agency  for  a 


106      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

Certain  patent  horsc.shoe  which  tlu-  city  railways 
liked  and  bought.  Useful  also  as  a  politician,  thev 
gave  him  a  blanket  contract  to  keep  all  their  mules 
and  horses  shod.  Butler's  farrieries  glowed  all 
about  the  town,  and  his  political  influence  >pr<  a<l 
with  his  business;  for  everywhere  hig  Ed  But  lei- 
went  there  went  a  smile  also,  and  encouragement 
for  your  weakness,  no  matter  what  it  was.  Like 
"Doc"  Ames,  of  Minneapolis — like  the  "good 
fellow"  everywhere — Butler  won  men  by  helping 
them  to  wreck  themselves.  A  priest,  the  Rev. 
James  Coffey,  once  denounced  Butler  from  the 
pulpit  as  a  corrupter  of  youth ;  at  another  time  a 
mother  knelt  in  the  aisle  of  a  church,  and  during 
service  audibly  called  upon  Heaven  for  a  visitation 
of  affliction  upon  Butler  for  having  ruined  her 
son.  These  and  similar  incidents  increased  his 
power  by  advertising  it.  He  grew  bolder.  He  has 
been  known  to  walk  out  of  a  voting-place  and  call 
across  a  cordon  of  police  to  a  group  of  men  at  the 
curb,  "  Are  there  any  more  repeaters  out  here 
that  want  to  vote  again  ?  " 

They  will  tell  you  in  St.  Louis  that  Butler  never 
did  have  much  real  power,  that  his  boldness  and  the 
clamor  against  him  made  him  seem  great.  Public 
protest  is  part  of  the  power  of  every  boss.  So 
far,  however,  as  I  can  gather,  Butler  was  the 
leader  of  his  organization,  but  only  so  long  as  he 


-II  \  MI  i.i  — \ISS  OF  ST.  LOUIS  107 
was  a  partiitan  politician;  as  he  became  a 
M  bo< '  .«•  grew  carelcM  about 

his  machine,  and  did  his  boodle  business  with  th. 
•  f  tlu-  w.  ..f  hnth  i  U  any 

.  tin-  linudl.  rs,  a:  !,  say  that  in 

\iai-N   in    had  about  equal  powt  r  with 

BJ,     an.!  linly    Wat    t 

Louis   during   the    K.-pu!  n   of 

Ziegenhein,  which  was  the  worst  in  th.   history  of 

II-  ni.  t  hod  was  to  dictate  enough  of  the 

idates  on  both  tickets  to  enable  him,  by  sc- 

hc  worst  from  each,  *   the  sort  of 

me/l  he  r.<juirrd  in  his  business.      In  other  words, 

\\lnlr    honist    Democrats    and    K  ms    were 

•'  l<»\al  t  point  of  h  the- 

I  )  and  "  ht,"  th«    I  )  •  boss 

and  his  R,  puhlican  lioutenan*  d  \vhat  part 

of  each   ticktt    should  h«  sent 

ar«)inid    Hut1  | waters)    by    the 

»&d  to   scratch    ballots   and   "repent"    th.ir 

.  till  the  worst  had  made  sure  of  th« 

hv  tlu-  worst,  and  Hutk-r  was  in  a  position  to 

do  business. 

s  was  boodl ing, which  is  a  more  n  f 
and  n  more  dangerous   forn  rui>tion   than 

police  blackmail  of  Minneapolis.      It   inv< 
not  thieves,  gamblers,  and  common  women,  but  in- 
fluential citizens,  capitalists,  and  great  corpora- 


10H  11  IK  SHAME  OF  TIIK  CITIES 
tions.  For  the  stock-in-trade  of  the  boodlcr  is  tlio 
rights,  privileges,  franchises,  and  real  property 
of  the  city,  and  his  source  of  corruption  is  the  top, 
not  the  bottom,  of  society.  Butler,  thrown  early 
in  his  career  into  contact  with  corporation  man- 
agers, proved  so  useful  to  them  that  they  intro- 
duced him  to  other  financiers,  and  the  scandal  of 
his  services  attracted  to  him  in  due  course  all  men 
who  wanted  things  the  city  had  to  give.  The 
boodlers  told  me  that,  according  to  the  tradition 
of  their  combine,  there  "  always  was  boodling  in 
St.  Louis." 

Butler  organized  and  systematized  and  de- 
veloped it  into  a  regular  financial  institution, 
and  made  it  an  integral  part  of  the  business 
community.  He  had  for  clients,  regular  or  occa- 
sional, bankers  and  promoters;  and  the  state- 
ments of  boodlers,  not  yet  on  record,  allege  that 
every  transportation  and  public  convenience  com- 
pany that  touches  St.  Louis  had  dealings  with 
Butler's  combine.  And  my  best  information  is 
that  these  interests  were  not  victims.  Blackmail 
came  in  time,  but  in  the  beginning  they  originated 
the  schemes  of  loot  and  started  Butler  on  his 
career.  Some  interests  paid  him  a  regular  salary, 
others  a  fee,  and  again  he  was  a  partner  in  the  en- 
terprise, with  a  special  "  rake-off "  for  his  in- 
fluence. "  Fee  "  and  "  present  "  are  his  terms, 


HI  AMI  I  I  — \1  SS  OF  ST.  LOUIS    109 

ami  h<    haii  npok<  ly  of  taking  and  giving 

i  Carded  hi*  charges  as 

legitimate  (he  is  th-    <  I.MH');  but  nc  knew 

some  people  thought  liis  services  wrong.     II« 

said  th.it,  \\ln-ii  he  had  recei\'d  hi-  f« •••  for  a 

piece  of  h.    "  went   home  and  prayed 

the   in.  .iMin-    mi-ht    pass,"   and,  he  added 

lj,   that    ••  usually   his  prayers  were  an- 

iwered91 

His  prayers  were  "usually  answered*'  by  th< 
.Municipal  Avsrinhlv.  This  legislative  body  is  di- 
vided into  two  houses — the  upper,  call«i  tin-  Coun- 
cil, consisting  of  thirttt  ii  m<  inbcrs,  elected  at 
large;  th<  l..u,  r,  c.i!!.<l  th<-  House  of  I)« -N-gatem, 
\\ith  t\\»-nt\  .  i-ht  UK  mbrrs,  rlrcted  by  wards;  and 
each  in.  inhi  r  of  tlu-M-  hodirs  i>  paid  twenty-ti\«  dol- 
lars a  month  .salary  hv  tin-  city.  With  the  mayor, 

Asscmhly  has  practically  complete  control  of 
all  public  property  and  valuable  rights.  Though 
Hutlcr  sometimes  could  rent  or  ou  n  the  mayor,  he 
preferred  to  be  independent  of  him,  so  he  formed 
in  each  part  of  the  legislature  a  two-thirds  ma- 

\— in  the  Council  nine,  in  the  House  nine- 
teen— which  could  pass  bills  o\er  a  veto.  These 
were  the  -  oombinea.'1  regularly  or- 

(I.  and  did  their  business  under  parliamen- 
tary rules.  Each  *'  combine  "  elected  its  chairman, 
\\ho  wa.s  elected  chairman  also  of  the  legal  bodies^ 


110      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

where  he  appointed  the  committees,  naming  to  each 
a  majority  of  combine  members. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  combines,  Butler's 
control  was  complete,  because  it  was  political.  He 
picked  the  men  who  were  to  be  legislators ;  they 
did  as  he  bade  them  do,  and  the  boodling  was 
noiseless,  safe,  and  moderate  in  price.  Only 
wrongful  acts  were  charged  for,  and  a  right  once 
sold  was  good;  for  Butler  kept  his  word.  The 
definition  of  an  honest  man  as  one  who  will  stay 
bought,  fitted  him.  But  it  takes  a  very  strong 
man  to  control  himself  and  others  when  the  money 
lust  grows  big,  and  it  certainly  grew  big  in  St. 
Louis.  Butler  used  to  watch  the  downtown  dis- 
tricts. He  knew  everybody,  and  when  a  railroad 
wanted  a  switch,  or  a  financial  house  a  franchise, 
Butler  learned  of  it  early.  Sometimes  he  dis- 
covered the  need  and  suggested  it.  Naming  the 
regular  price,  say  $10,000,  he  would  tell  the 
"  boys  "  what  was  coming,  and  that  there  would 
be  $1,000  to  divide.  He  kept  the  rest,  and  the 
city  got  nothing.  The  bill  was  introduced  and 
held  up  till  Butler  gave  the  word  that  the  money 
was  in  hand;  then  it  passed.  As  the  basin «  ^ 
grew,  however,  not  only  illegitimate,  but  legitimate 
permissions  were  charged  for,  and  at  gradually  in- 
creasing rates.  Citizens  who  asked  leave  to  make 
excavations  in  streets  for  any  purpose,  neighbor- 


SHAMELE8SNESS  OF  ST.  LOUIS    ill 

is  that  had  to  have  imps — all  had  to 

pay,  arid  th«-\   <!;.!  pay.     In  irs  there  waj 

no  other  way.  Business  men  who  complained  felt 
a  certain  pressure  brought  to  bear  on  them  from 
most  mi'  d<>unti 

A  business  man  told  me  that  a  railroad  which 
had  a  hranch  near  I.  ry  suggested  that  he 

go  to  th<  Municipal  Legislature  and  get  permis- 
sion to  have  a  switch  run  into  his  yard.  He  liked 
tin-  idea,  hut  when  he  found  it  would  cost  him  eight 
n  thousand  dollars,  he  gave  it  up.  Then  the 
railroad  became  slow  about  handling  his  freight, 
lie  understood,  and,  heing  a  fighter,  he  ferried  the 
goods  across  th  to  anotl  1.  That 

brought  him  the  switch;  and  when  he  asked  about 
it,  the  railroad  man  said: 

44  Oh,  we  got  it  done.  You  see,  we  pay  a  reg- 
ular  salary  to  some  of  those  fellows,  and  they  did 
it  for  us  for  nothing." 

44  Then  why  in  the  deuce  did  you  send  me  to 
them?  "  a>ked  the  manufacturer. 

"  We!!.   \«>u  see,"  was  the  answer,  "we  like  to 
in  with  them,  and  when  we  can  throw  them  a 
little  outside  business  we  do." 

In  other  words,  a  great  railway  corporation,  not 

nt  with  paying  bribe  salaries  to  these  boodle 

aldermen,  was  ready,  further  to  oblige  them,  to 

help  i    manufacturer  and  a  customer   {*• 


112      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIKS 

go  also  and  be  blackmailed  1>\  t  In-  Ixxxllrrs.  kk  How 
om  you  buck  a  game  like  that?  "  this  man  asked 
me. 

Very  few  tried  to.  Blackmail  was  all  in  the  or- 
dinary course  of  business,  and  the  habit  of  sub- 
mission became  fixed — a  habit  of  mind.  The 
city  itself  was  kept  in  darkness  for  weeks,  pending 
the  payment  of  $175,000  in  bribes  on  the  lighting 
contract,  and  complaining  citizens  went  for  light 
where  Mayor  Ziegenhein  told  them  to  go — to  the 
moon. 

Boodling  was  safe,  and  boodling  was  fat.  But- 
ler became  rich  and  greedy,  and  neglectful  of  poli- 
tics. Outside  capital  came  in,  and  finding  Butler 
bought,  went  over  his  head  to  the  boodle  combines. 
These  creatures  learned  thus  the  value  of  fran- 
chises, and  that  Butler  had  been  giving  them  an 
unduly  small  share  of  the  boodle. 

Then  began  a  struggle,  enormous  in  its  vile  mel- 
odrama, for  control  of  corruption — Butler  to 
squeeze  the  municipal  legislators  and  save  his 
profits,  they  to  wring  from  him  their  "  fair  share." 
Combines  were  formed  within  the  old  combines  to 
make  him  pay  more;  and  although  he  still  was 
the  legislative  agent  of  the  inner  ring,  he  had  to 
keep  in  his  secret  pay  men  who  would  argue  for 
low  rates,  while  the  combine  members,  suspicious 
of  one  another,  appointed  their  own  legislative 


BHAMELE88NB88  OF  8T    LOUIS    118 

agent  to  mint    Butler.     Not  sure  even  then,  the 

clique*     appoint. .I     "  follow 

agent,  watch  him  en  NT'S  house,  and  then 

v    him  to  the  place  where  the  money  was  to 

be  distrilmted.       <  \      CiutU    and 

Mum  II  represented  Uutler  in  the   House  of  lk*le- 

I'thofT  in  the 

<  !u T  members  suspected  that  these 

men  got  "something  hi^r  ,,,,  the  side,"  so  Butl.-r 
to  hire  a  third  to  betray  tin-  comhinr  to  him. 
In   the   House,  Robertson   was  the  man.      V 
(intkr  had  m.tifi.d  tli.'  .  h.ui-iii.in  that  a  deal  was 
on,  and  a  iiu-rtiiig  was  calU-d,  tin-  rlmirman  would 

44  (init K MMi-n,  the  husiness  before  us  to-night  is 
[say]  t)ie  Siih urban  Railway  Bill.  How  much 
shall  we  ask  IW 

Gutke  would  move  that  "  the  price  be  $40,000." 
Some  mrmhrr  of  tin-  outer  rin<j  would  move  $100,- 
000  as  fair  boo<ll« .  Th.  <|.  I  -,  uaxed  hot, 

and  you  hear  of  the  drawing  of  revolvers.  In  this 
case  (of  the  Suburban  Railway)  Robertson  rose 
and  move  d  a  t  <>mpi oinise  of  $75,000,  urging  mod- 
on,  lest  they  get  nothing,  and  hU  price  was 
•d.  Tlu-n  tlu-y  would  lohhv  <>\«  r  tin-  appoint- 
nirnt  of  tlu  a^nit.  Tlu-v  did  not  want  (iutke,  or 
anvoiu-  Hut  It  r  owned,  so  tlu-y  chose  some  other; 
and  having  adjourned,  the  outer  ring  would  send 


Hi      TIIK  SHAME  OF  Till:  CITIES 

a  "  trailer  "  to  watch  the  agent,  and  sometime-  a 

second  "  trailer"  to  wateh  the  !ir-». 

They  began  to  work  up  business  on  their  own  ac- 
count, and,  all  decency  gone,  they  sold  out  some- 
times to  both  -ide-  of  a  fight.  The  Central  Trac- 
tion deal  in  1898  was  an  instance  of  this.  Robert 
M.  Sn\der,  a  capitalist  and  promoter,  of  New 
York  and  Kansas  City,  came  into  St.  Louis  with  a 
traction  proposition  inimical  to  the  city  railway  in- 
ts.  These  felt  secure.  Through  But  In-  tiny 
u  <  re  paying  seven  members  of  the  Council  $5,000 
a  year  each,  but  as  a  precaution  John  Scullin,  But- 
ler's associate,  and  one  of  the  ablest  capitalists  of 
St.  Louis,  paid  Councilman  Uthoff  a  special  re- 
tainer of  $25,000  to  watch  the  salaried  boodlers. 
When  Snyder  found  Butler  and  the  combines 
against  him,  he  set  about  buying  the  members  indi- 
vidually, and,  opening  wine  at  his  headquarters,  be- 
gan bidding  for  votes.  This  was  the  first  break 
from  Butler  in  a  big  deal,  and  caused  great  agi- 
tation among  the  boodlers.  They  did  not  go  ri^ht 
over  to  Snyder;  they  saw  Butler,  and  with  Snydcr"- 
valuation  of  the  franchise  before  them,  made  the 
boss  go  up  to  $175,000.  Then  the  Council  com- 
bine called  a  meeting  in  Gast's  Garden  to  see  if 
they  could  not  agree  on  a  price.  Butler  sent  Ut- 
hoff there  with  instructions  to  cause  a  disagree- 
ment, or  fix  a  price  so  high  that  Snyder  would  re- 


BHAMELES8NE88  Ol    B1     i"i'IS    115 
fine  to  pay  it.     UthoflT  obeyed,  and,  sugg* 
$250,000,  persuaded  some  members  to  hold  otr 

II  tlu  nut  ting  broke  up  in  a  row.    Then  it  waa 

i  for  himself,  and  nil  hurried  to  Me  Butl<  r, 
and  to  see  Snydcr  too.     In  tin-  scramble  vnt 
prices    were    paid        I  ouncilmen    got    • 

Snydcr  $10,000  each,  one  got  $15,000,  an 
$17,500,  and  one  $50,000  ;  t  -,v,  nty-fivc  members  of 
I  louse  of  Delegates  got  $3,000  earl,  from  him. 
In  all,  Snydcr  paid  $250,000  for  t  ,  and 

Hutler   and   lii-   hack.-r-.    paid   only   $175,000 

to  beat  it,  the  h-.m.  hisc  was  passed.  Snyder 
turned  around  and  sold  it  to  his  old  opponents  for 
$1,250,000.  It  was  worth  twice  as  much. 

The  man  who  received  $50,000  from  Snyder  was 

inn-  I'thofV  uho  had  t. ikon  $25,000  from  John 

Srullin,  and  his  story  as  he  has  told  it  sincr  on  tlui 

stand  is  the  most  romiral  iru -id. -nt  of  the  exposure. 

-•ivder,    with    his    "overcoat    full    of 

money,"  came  out  to  hi-,  IH.UM-  to  S»H-  him.     'I 

n^rthrr  on  a  sofa,  and  wh«-n  Snyil.-r  was  gone 
I'thoff  found  beside  him  a  j)  i  '.lining  $50,- 

000.  This  he  returned  to  the  promoter,  uith  the 

MI. nt  that  he  could  not  accept  it,  since  he  had 
already  taken  $25,000  from  t  ;  but  he 

intimated  tl.  ould  take  $100,000.  This 

lised,  so  Uthoff  voted  for  the  1 


IHi       THK  SHAME  OF  Till-:  CITIES 

The  nr\t  day  Hutli  r  called  at  Uthoff's  house. 
Uthoff  spoke  first. 

"  I  want  to  return  this,"  he  said,  handing  But- 
ler tin  package  of  $25,000. 

Hint's  what   I  cam.-  after,"  said  Htitler. 

When  Uthoff  told  this  in  the  trial  of  Snyder, 
Snydcr's  counsel  asked  why  he  returned  this 
$25,000. 

"  Because  it  wasn't  mine,"  exclaimed  Uthoff, 
flushing  with  anger.  "  I  hadn't  earned  it." 

But  he  believed  he  had  earned  the  $100,000,  and 
he  besought  Snyder  for  that  sum,  or,  anyway,  the 
$50,000.  Snyder  made  him  drink,  and  gave  him 
just  $5,000,  taking  by  way  of  receipt  a  signed 
statement  that  the  reports  of  bribery  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Central  Traction  deal  were  utterly 
false;  that  "  I  [Uthoff]  know  you  [Snyder]  to  be 
as  far  above  offering  a  bribe  as  I  am  of  taking 
one." 

Irregular  as  all  this  was,  however,  the  legisla- 
tors kept  up  a  pretense  of  partisanship  and  de- 
cency. In  the  debates  arranged  for  in  the  combine 
caucus,  a  member  or  two  were  told  off  to  make 
partisan  speeches.  Sometimes  they  were  instructed 
to  attack  the  combine,  and  one  or  two  of  the  rascal-; 
used  to  take  delight  in  arraigning  their  friends  on 
the  floor  of  the  House,  charging  them  with  the  ex- 
act facts. 


>H  \Ml  I  KSSNESS  OP  ST.  LOUIS    117 
But  for  tin-  serious  work  no  one  knew  hit  pa 

.  r  had  with  liiui  Kepuhlicans  and  Democrat*, 
and  there  w.  tilicans  and  Democrat*  among 

those  against  him.     He  could  trust  none  not  in  his 
•pecial  pay.     He  was  the  chief  bood 
the  legislature's  beat  his  pohtic.d  influence 

began  to  dept ml  upon  hi*  boodling  instead  of  the 
reverse. 

1  !•  is  ti  millionaire  two  or  three  times  over  now, 
but  it  is  related  that  to  someone  who  advised  him 
to  quit  in  time  I  .1  that  it  wasn't  a  matter 

of  money  alone  with  him  :  he  liked  the  business,  and 
would   rather  make  fifty  dollars  out  of  a   - 
than  $500  in  stocks.     He  enjoyed  buying 
chises  cheap  and  sell  u  dear.     In  the  light  - 

in-  dral  of  1899  Butler  received  $150,000,  and 
i  out  only  $85,OOO— $47,500  to  the  Houre, 

$87,500  to  tin-  Council       and  th«-  Im^liiitf  with  the 
IM  comhin.-  cat^.d  tli.».    \\ivks  of  total  dark- 
nets  in   tin-  citv.      He  had  (iutke  tell   this  comhine 
that    he  could  d:\ide  only  $20,000  amon^c   them. 

|   voted  the  measure,  but,  suspecting  Hut 
"  holding  ,,iit  on  them/'  moved  to  reconsid 

furious,  and  a   crowd   went 

w  ith  ropes  to  the  City  Hall  the  ni^ht  the  motion  to 
reconsider   came   up;   hut    the   comhine   \\a>   deter- 
mined.     Hutler  \vas  there  in  person       I  I.    was  more 
an  the  di  legates,  and  the  sweat  rolled 


us     THE  SHAMI:  or  Tin;  CITIES 

down  his  face  as  he  bargained  with  them.  With 
the  whole  crowd  looking  on,  and  reporters  so  near 
that  a  delegate  told  me  la-  expected  to  see  the  con- 
versation in  the  papers  the  next  morning,  Butler 
threatened  and  pleaded,  but  finally  promised  to  di- 
\  ide  $47,500.  That  was  an  occasion  for  a  burst  of 
eloquence.  The  orators,  indicating  the  citi/.ns 
with  ropes,  declared  that  .since  it  was  plain  the 
people  wanted  light,  they  would  vote  them  light. 
And  no  doubt  the  people  thought  they  had  won, 
for  it  was  not  known  till  much  later  that  the  votes 
were  bought  by  Butler,  and  that  the  citizens  only 
hastened  a  corrupt  bargain. 

The  next  big  boodle  measure  that  Butler  missed 
was  the  Suburban  Traction,  the  same  that  led  lon^ 
after  to  disaster.  This  is  the  story  Turner  and 
Stock  have  been  telling  over  and  over  in  the  boodle 
trials.  Turner  and  his  friends  in  the  St.  Louis 
Suburban  Railway  Company  sought  a  franchise, 
for  which  they  were  willing  to  pay  large  bribes. 
Turner  spoke  about  it  to  Butler,  who  said  it  would 
cost  $145,000.  This  seemed  too  much,  and  Turner 
asked  Stock  to  lobby  the  measure  through.  Stock 
managed  it,  but  it  cost  him  $144,000 — $135,000 
for  the  combine,  $9,000  extra  for  Mcysenburg — 
and  then,  before  the  money  was  paid  over  and  the 
company  in  possession  of  its  privilege,  an  injunc- 
tion put  a  stop  to  all  proceedings.  The  money 


-II  \Ml.l.l.--\l  ss  OF  ST.  LOUIS  119 
won  in  safe-deposit  \aulu— $75,000  for  the  HOUM? 
com!,  -if,  $60,000  for  the  Council  combi- 

>ther — and  when  the  legislature  mljinin. 
long  fight  for  the  money  «nfftfd      But  NT  chuckled 
over  tin  hun^lin^.    He  is  said  to  have  drawn  from 
jt   tin-  lesson  tha-  n  you  want  a  franchise, 

don't  go  to  a  'Or  it ;  pay  an  ami  lull 

i-  t  he  goods." 

But  tin-  cnmhine  dn  <>wn  conclusions  from 

it,  and  tl  il  was,  that  though  hoodling  was 

a  business  by  itself,  it  was  a  good  business,  and  so 
easy  that  anybody  could  1.  .mi  it  by  study. 

study    it    tin  \    did.      Two  told   me   rcpeat- 

edly  that  they  tra\.le<l  ahout  th«-  country  looking 
up  the  hu.siiu-s*,  and  that  a  frllnwNhip  had  grown 
up  among  boo<Iling  ald<  rman  of  tin-  leading  cities 
in  the  rnitrd  States,  ronunit  t. •« -s  fn.ni  Chicago 
would  come  to  St.  Louis  to  find  out  what  u  new 
games  "  the  St.  Louis  boodlers  had,  and  tlu-y  gave 
the  St.  Louixaiis  hints  as  to  how  th«  \  "di«l  th« 
ness"  in  Chicago.  So  t !  >  _-o  and  St.  Louis 
boodlers  used  to  visit  (  d  and  PitUhur^ 

and  all  the  other  cities,  or,  if  the  distance  was  too 
great,  they  got  their  ideas  by  those  my>t» -rious 
channels  which  run  all  through  th<  M  \\ 

The  meeting  ])la  91    Louis  was  ]} 

er's  stable,  and  ideas  unfold-  d  there  were  developed 
into  plans  which,  the  boodlers  say  to-day,  are  only 


120      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

in  abcynnro.  In  I)«rk« T'S  stable  the  idea  \\as  horn 
to  sell  the  Tnion  Market  ;  and  though  tin-  deal  did 
not  go  through, the  hoodlirs,  \\lirn  tlicv  .saw  it  fail- 
ing, made  the  market  men  pay  $10,000  for  killing 
it.  This  scheme  is  laid  asidr  for  tin-  future.  An- 
other that  failed  was  to  sell  the  court  housr,  and 
this  was  well  under  way  when  it  was  discovered  that 
the  ground  on  which  this  public  building  stands 
was  given  to  the  city  on  condition  that  it  was  to 
be  used  for  a  court-house  and  nothing  1 1 

But  the  grandest  idea  of  all  came  from  Phila- 
delphia. In  that  city  the  gas-works  were  sold  out 
to  a  private  concern,  and  the  water-works  were  to 
be  sold  next.  The  St.  Louis  fellows  have  been  try- 
ing ever  since  to  find  a  purchaser  for  their  water- 
works. The  plant  is  worth  at  least  $40,000,000. 
But  the  boodlers  thought  they  could  let  it  go  at 
$15,000,000,  and  get  $1,000,000  or  so  themselves 
for  the  bargain.  "  The  scheme  was  to  do  it  and 
skip,"  said  one  of  the  boodlers  who  told  me  about 
it,  "  and  if  you  could  mix  it  all  up  with  some  filter- 
ing scheme  it  could  be  done;  only  some  of  us 
thought  we  could  make  more  than  $1,000,000  out 
of  it — a  fortune  apiece.  It  will  be  done  some 
day." 

Such,  then,  is  the  boodling  system  as  we  see  it 
in  St.  Louis.  Everything  the  city  owned  was  for 
sale  by  the  officers  elected  by  the  people.  The  pur- 


SHAMELES8NES8  OF  ST.  LOUIS    1*1 

chanen*  might  be  willing  m  unwilling  taken;  they 

illicit   be  nti/cns  «.r  outsiders;  it  was  all  on.-  to 

..;o\  eminent.       So   long  a*    tllC  BMBlbcn  of 

^••t  thr  proceeds  they  would  M  11  out 

\\  .        J    .1,.!    ami    they    uill-       If 

a  city  treasurer  runs  away  with  $50,000  there  in  a 
great  halloo  about  it.  In  St.  Louis  '  !»irly 

organi/cd  thie\rs  \\lio  rule  have  sold  $00,000,000 
worth  of  franchise*  and  other  valuable  municipal 
assets.  This  is  the  estimate  made  for  me  by  a 
banker,  who  said  that  the  boodlers  got  not  one- 
tenth  of  the  \alue  of  the  things  they  sold,  but  were 
content  because  t!  it  all  themselves.  And  as 

to  t!  boodling  infonnants  said  that  all 

the  possessions  of  the  ritv  m  T  future 

that   the  list  was  in  exi  unl  that  the 

sale  of  these  properties  was  only  postponed  on  ac- 

f  Mr.  Folk. 

Preposterous?  It  certainly  would  seem  so;  but 
watch  the  people  of  St.  Louis  as  I  have,  and  as 
the  boodlers  have — then  judge. 

,1  remember,  fir^t,  that    Mr.  Folk  really  was 
an  n«  St.  Louis  knew  in  a  general  way,  as 

other  cities  to-day  know,  what  was  going  on,  but 

was     no     popular     movement.     I'olit: 
named   and   elected    him,    and    they    expected   no 
trouble  from  him.     The  moment  be  took  office,  on 
January  1,  1901,  ButK-r  called  on  him  to  appoint 


122      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

an  organization  man  first  assistant.  When  Folk 
n  t'iiM<l,  Butler  could  not  understand  it.  Goin<_c 
away  angry,  he  was  back  in  three  days  to  have 
hi*  man  appointed  second  assistant.  The  refusal 
of  this  also  had  some  effect.  The  boodlers  say  But- 
ler came  out  and  bade  them  "  look  out  ;  I  can't  do 
anything  with  Folk,  and  I  wouldn't  wonder  if  In- 
got after  you."  They  took  the  warning ; Butler  did 
not.  It  seems  never  to  have  occurred  to  him  that 
Mr.  Folk  would  "  get  after  "  him. 

What  Butler  felt,  the  public  felt.  When  Mr. 
Folk  took  up,  as  he  did  immediately,  election  fraud 
cases,  Butler  called  on  him  again,  and  told  him 
which  men  he  might  not  prosecute  in  earnest.  The 
town  laughed.  When  Butler  was  sent  about  his 
business,  and  Folk  proceeded  in  earnest  against 
the  repeaters  of  both  parties,  even  those  who  "  had 
helped  elect  him,"  there  was  a  sensation.  But  the 
stir  was  due  to  the  novelty  and  the  incomprehensi- 
bility of  such  non-partisan  conduct  in  public  office. 
Incredulous  of  honesty,  St.  Louis  manifested  the 
first  signs  of  that  faith  in  evil  which  is  so  char- 
acteristic of  it.  "  Why  didn't  Mr.  Folk  take  up 
boodling?  "  was  the  cynical  challenge.  "  What  do 
a  few  miserable  repeaters  amount  to  ?  " 

Mr.  Folk  is  a  man  of  remarkable  equanimity. 
When  he  has  laid  a  course,  he  steers  by  it  truly, 
and  nothing  can  excite  or  divert  him.  He  had  said 


-II  \\I1I  I  --NESS  OF  ST.  LOUIS    1*3 

he  would  "  do  hi*  dut  vrould  expoftc 

ipti.m  or  n  form  St.  Ix>uui;  and  beyond  w. 
ing  devt !  nothing  for  a  year  to  an- 

t!;,-   pn>  llonge.     Hut    In-  was  making 

prcparat  \il  lawyer,  he  was  studying 

rriiuiiial  hiw  ;  and  uh«  n,  on  January  £8,  1902,  he 
taw  in  the  St.  Louis  Star  a  paragraph  aboir 
Suhurhan  hrih«-  fund  in  hank,  lie  was  ready.      li- 
mit smmuonsrs  by  the  wholesale  for  bankers, 
Subii!  ;  ul way  officials  and  directors,  legisla- 

tors and  politicians,  and  before  the  grand    jury 
tin-  hour  for  days  and  days. 

Nobody  knew  anything;  and  though  Mr.  Folk  was 
known  to  be  "after  tin  hoodlers,"  those  fellows 
and  their  fn  iv  not  alarmed  ai  iblic 

was  not  satisfjrd. 

44  Gft    indit  •  '   was   tin-  rliallrnge  now.      It 

was  a  "  bluff  M ;  hut  Mr.  Folk  took  it  up,  and  by  a 
M  hlutr  "  lu-  M  got  an  indictm,  nt."  And  this  is  the 
way  of  it :  the  old  row  between  the  Suburban  people 
and  the  hoodie  comhinc  was  going  on  ;  .  hut 

in  a  very  bitter  spirit.  The  money,  Iving  in  the 
safe-depo>it  vaults,  in  cash,  was  claimed  by  both 
parties.  The  boodlers  said  it  was  theirs  because 
they  had  don  part  by  voting  the  franchise; 

-  ihurbnn  people  said  it  was  theirs  becau><  they 
had  not  0  :  tin-  framhisr.    The  boodlers  an- 

swered that  the  injunction  against  the  franchise 


ISM-  THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
was  not  theirs,  and  they  threatened  to  takr  the  de- 
pute before  the  grand  jury.  It  was  they  who  gave 
to  a  reporter  a  paragraph  about  the  "  boodle 
fund,"  and  they  meant  to  have  it  scare  Turner  and 
Stock.  Stock  really  was  "scared."  When  Mr. 
Folk's  summons  was  served  on  him,  he  believed  the 
boodlcrs  had  "  squealed,"  and  he  fainted.  The 
deputy  who  saw  the  effect  of  the  summons  told  Mr. 
Folk,  who,  seeing  in  it  only  evidence  of  weakness 
and  guilt,  sent  for  the  lawyer  who  represent «1 
Stock  and  Turner,  and  boldly  gave  him  the  choice 
for  his  clients  of  being  witnesses  or  defendants. 
The  lawyer  was  firm,  but  Folk  advised  him  to  con- 
sult his  clients,  and  their  choice  was  to  be  witn< 
Their  confession  and  the  seizure  of  the  bribe  fund 
in  escrow  gave  Folk  the  whole  inside  story  of  the 
Suburban  deal,  and  evidence  in  plenty  for  indict- 
ments. He  took  seven,  and  the  reputation  and 
standing  of  the  first  culprits  showed  right  away  not 
only  the  fearlessness  of  the  prosecution,  but  the 
variety  and  power  and  wealth  of  the  St.  Louis  spe- 
cies of  boodler.  There  was  Charles  Kratz,  agent 
of  the  Council  combine ;  John  K.  Murrell,  agent  of 
the  House  combine ;  Emil  A.  Meysenburg,  council- 
man and  "good  citizen" — all  for  taking  bril 
Kllis  Wainwright  and  Henry  Nicolaus,  millionaire 
brewers,  and  directors  of  the  Suburban  Railway 
Company  for  bribery;  and  Julius  Lehmann  and 


SHAMEL]  -\ESS  OF  ST.  LOUIS    1*5 

y  A.  Faulkner,  of  tin-  1 I  ouse  combine,  for  per- 
1         newt  caused  com  tarnation ;  but  the 
ring  rail  Aether,  and  the  cyme*  laid, 

icy  never  will  b« 

outlook  was  stormy.     Mr.  Folk  felt  now  in 

full  force  the  powerful  int.  r.-sts  that  opposed  him. 

^landing  of  tome  of  the  prisoners  was  one 

thing;  another  was  tin-  charaet.  r  of  tin-  men  who 
r   bail   bond — Butler   for   the   bribe 
takers,  other  millionaires   for  the  bribers.      But 
most  serious  was  the  flow  of  persons  who  went  to 
!  '..Ik  privately  and  besought  or  bade  him  dc- 
'lu-y  were  not  alone  ,  -olid,  in- 

nocent   htisiness   mm,  eminmt    lawyers,   and   good 
Is.     Hardly  a  man  he  knew  but  came  to  him 
•ne  or  another,  in  one  way  or  anoth.  r,  to 
plead  for  some  rascal  or  other.    Threats  of  assas- 
sinfition  and  political  ruin,  offers  of  political  pro- 
motion and  of  renni! 

nerships,  veiled  bribes— everything  lie  might   fear 
was  held  up  on  one  side,  everything  he  might  • 
on  the  other.     "  \\  \  <  n  you  are  doing  a  thing  lik«- 

he  says  now,  '*  you  cannot  listen  to  anybody ;? 
you  have  to  think  for  yoiirs.-lf  and  rely  on  yourself 
I   knew  I  simply  had  to  succeed;  and,  suc- 
cess  or  failure,  I   (Vlt   that  a  political  future  was) 
not  to  be  considered,  so  I  shut  out  all  idea  if  it." 
So  he  went  on  silently  but  surely;  how  surely 


126  THK  SHAME  OF  THK  dTIKS 
may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  in  all  his  deal- 
ings with  witnesses  who  turned  State's  evidi Mice  Ju- 
lias not  made  one  misstep;  there  have  heen  no  mis- 
iimRTstaiidings,  and  no  charges  against  him  of 
foul  play.  While  the  pre.xMire  from  hehind  never 
ceased,  and  the  defiance  hef'ore  him  was  hold,  "  (Jo 
higher  up "  was  the  challenge.  He  was  going 
higher  up.  With  confessions  of  Turner  and  Stock, 
and  the  indictments  for  perjury  for  example-,  he 
re-examined  witnesses;  and  though  the  big  men 
were  furnishing  the  little  boodlers  with  legal  ad- 
vice and  drilling  them  in  their  stories,  there  wen- 
breaks  here  and  there.  The  story  of  the  Central 
Traction  deal  began  to  develop,  and  that  went 
higher  up,  straight  into  the  group  of  millionaires 
led  by  Butler. 

But  there  was  an  impassable  barrier  in  the  law 
on  bribery.  American  legislators  do  not  lejrNate 
harshly  against  their  chief  vice.  The  State  of 
Missouri  limits  the  liability  of  a  briber  to  three 
years,  and  the  Traction  deal  was  outlawed  for 
most  of  the  principals  in  it.  But  the  law  exccpted 
non-residents,  and  Mr.  Folk  found  that  in  moments 
of  vanity  Robert  M.  Snyder  had  d<  -crihed  himself 
as  "  of  New  York,"  so  he  had  Snyder  indicted  for 
hribery,  and  George  J.  Kobusch,  president  of  the 
St.  Louis  Car  Company,  for  perjury,  Kobusch 
having  sworn  that  he  knew  of  no  bribery  for  the 


BHAHEL 1 1SSNESS  OF  ST.  LOUIS    1*7 

•nil  Trm-tinn  franchise,  when  lie  himself  had 
paid  out  money.  Kobusch  turned  State's  witness 
against  > 

1 1  -h  .-i-  t  iiete  indictments  were,  the  cry  for  But- 
ler |"  and  the  skeptical  tone  of  it  made  it 
'to  break  up  the  ring  Mr.  Folk  had  to 
:i  the  boss.    And  !»«•  <  him.     Saved  by 
missing  the  Suburban  business,  sa\«i  hy  the  law  in 
affair,  llutli-r  lost  by  his  te- 
merity;  he  went  on  boodling  aft.  r  Mr.  Folk  was  in 
office.     He  offered  4t  pre>-              f  $2,500  each  to 
the  two  medical  members  of  the  !!« -a  1th  Hoard  for 
approval  of  a  garbage  contra, -t  which  was  to 
n.  t  him  $333,500.    So  thr  ••  ol. I  M  i  head 
«•!'  the  boodlers,  and  the  h-^i Native  agent  of  the  fi- 
ll tlistrirt,  was  indifted. 
Hut   th.                                    irt,  and  tin-  public  faitli 

1  rcinnined  steadfast.    No  one  had  been  t 
Tin-  trials  were  approaching,  and  th<  understand- 
ing was  that  the  first  of  them  was  to  be  made  a 
A  defeat  might  stop  Mr.  Folk,  and  he  real- 
1  t-HYrt  such  a  ri'Milt  would  have.      Hut 

he  was  sure  of  his  cases  against  Murnll  and  Kratz, 

and  if  In-  coin  ict<  d  t  lu-in  thr  way  was  open  to  both 
•  ines  and  to  tin-  hi#  iwn  lu-hind  them.  To  all 
appearances  these  men  also  were  confident, and  *  it  h 
tlu  lawyers  engaged  for  them  they  might  well  have 
been.  Suddenly  it  was  decided  that  Murrell  was 


128  TI  IE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
weak,  and  might  "  cave."  He  ran  away.  The 
.shock  of  this  to  the  OOmnmnitj  is  hard  to  ivali/c 
now.  It  was  the  first  public  proof  of  guilt,  and  the 
first  break  in  the  rin#  of  little  l)oodlers.  To  Mr. 
Folk  it  was  the  first  serious  check,  for  he  could  not 
now  indict  the  House  combine.  Then,  too,  Kratz 
was  in  Florida,  and  the  Circuit  Attorney  saw  him- 
self going  into  court  with  tin-  weakest  of  his  early 
cases,  that  of  Meysenburg.  In  genii im  alarm  lu» 
moved  heavy  increases  in  the  bail  bonds.  All  the 
lawyers  in  all  the  cases  combined  to  defeat  this 
move,  and  the  fight  lasted  for  days ;  but  Mr.  Folk 
won.  Kratz  returned  in  a  rage  to  find  bail.  With 
his  connections  and  his  property  he  could  give  any 
amount,  he  boasted,  and  he  offered  $100,000.  In 
spite  of  the  protest  of  the  counsel  engaged  for  him, 
he  insisted  upon  furnishing  $20,000,  and  he  de- 
nounced the  effort  to  discredit  him  with  the  insinu- 
ation that  such  as  he  would  avoid  trial.  He  even 
asked  to  be  tried  first,  but  wiser  heads  on  his  side 
chose  the  Meysenburg  case. 

The  weakness  of  this  case  lay  in  the  indirection 
of  the  bribe.  Meysenburg,  a  business  man  of  re- 
pute, took  for  his  vote  on  the  Suburban  franchise, 
not  money;  he  sold  for  $9,000  some  two  hundred 
shares  of  worthless  stock.  This  might  be  made  to 
look  like  a  regular  business  transaction,  and  half  a 
dozen  of  the  best  lawyers  in  the  State  appeared  to 


HI  \\ILI.I-\I.-   -  -i    -  i     !       : 

prett  that  view.  Mr.  Folk,  however,  met  these  law- 
yer* |M»ii»t  by  point,  and  point  by  |»oint  lie  beat 
tin-in  all,  .iig  a  knowledge  of  law  which  as- 

prisoner 

^'ht    Hell   n  form  the 
method*  of  haranguing  prosecutors  all  over 

illy  wit)  i*  imper- 

attaek  the  prison  i      HfjWI 

!'«>r  that    purpHs,-.     He  wan  defending  the 
State,  not  prosecuting  t!  .-de- 

lie  telN  his  juries 

rouM  enforce  tin-  law  without  punishing  indixidu- 
ak,  we  should  not  l>.  hm- ;  hut  we  cannot.  Only  by 
making  an  example  of  tin  <  riminal  can  we  pr< 

«.  to  tin- prN  cannot  complain, 

because  his  own  deeds  are  his  dooms  men."  At 
one  stage  of  the  Faulkner  trial,  when  ex-Governor 
.Johnson  was  talking  about  tlu-  rights  of  the  pris- 

k.-il  that  the  State  had  r 

also.     -  Oil,  .1  the  rights  of  the  State!  "  was 

tin-    i  'id    the   jury    heard    it.      Ma: 

have  h«-ard  this  riew.    One  of  the  permanent  ser- 
vices Mr.  Folk  has  rendered  is  to  impress  upoi 
minds,  not  only  of  juries,  but  of  the  people  gen- 
erally, and  in  particular  upon  the  Courts  of  Ap- 
peal (whirh  -  .  that  while  the  criin- 
Itiw  has  been  developed  into  a  great  machine 
')u    rights,  and  miu-h   more,  of  the 


130      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

criminal,   the   rights   of   the   State    also    should   he 

guarded 

M<  \  i  nhurg  was  found  guilty  and  .sentenced  to 
three  years.  Tin-  man  was  shocked  limp,  and  the 
ring  brokt .  Kratz  ran  away.  He  was  advised  to 
go,  and,  like  M urn  11,  lie  had  promises  of  plenty  of 
money;  unlike  Miirrell,  however,  Kratz  stood  on 
the  order  of  his  going.  He  made  the  big  fellows 
give  him  a  large  sum  of  cash,  and  for  the  fulfill- 
ment of  their  promise  of  more  he  waited  menac- 
ingly in  New  Orleans.  Supplied  there  with  all  he 
demanded,  this  Council  leader  stepped  across  into 
Mexico,  and  has  gone  into  business  there  on  a  large 
scale.  With  Kratz  safely  away,  the  ring  was 
nerved  up  again,  and  Meysenburg  appeared  in 
court  with  five  well-known  millionaires  to  give  an 
appeal  bond  of  $25,000.  "  I  could  have  got 
more,"  he  told  the  reporters,  "  but  I  guess  that's 
enough." 

With  the  way  to  both  boodle  combines  closed 
thus  by  the  flight  of  their  go-betweens,  Mr.  Folk 
might  well  have  been  stayed;  but  he  wasn't.  He 
proceeded  with  his  examination  of  witnesses,  and  to 
loosen  their  tongues  he  brought  on  the  trials  of 
Lehmann  and  Faulkner  for  perjury.  They  were 
well  defended,  but  against  them  appeared,  as 
against  Meysenburg,  President  Turner,  of  the 
Suburban  Railway,  and  Philip  Stock,  the  brewery 


1 1 AMELESSNESS  OP  ST.  LOUIS    1S1 

secretary.  The  perjurers  were  found  guilty. 
Meanwhile  M  i  k  was  tr\m^  through  both 
Washington  an. I  Jefferson  City  to  have  Murrvll 
an. I  KM'/  hrou^lit  huck.  These  regular  chsnoA 
fulling,  hi-  a}  hi-  sources  of  inform/iti. 

Murr.U's  (th.  II..u*e)  combine,  and  he  soon 
learned  that  the  fugitive  was  ill,  without  money, 
and  un.ihle  to  con  lc  with  his  wife  or  friends. 

Money  that  had  been  raised  for  him  to  flee  with 
had  been  taken  by  others,  and  another  fund  sent  to 
him  hv  a  f.  llow-boodl<  r  did  not  reach  him.  The 

tv-boodlcr  did,  but  he  failed  to  deliver  the 
money.  M  urn  11  wanted  to  come  home,  and  Mr. 
Folk,  glad  to  welcome  him,  lit  him  come  as  far  as  a 
small  town  just  outside  of  St.  Louis.  There  he 
was  held  till  Mr.  Folk  could  arrange  a  coup  and 
make  sure  of  a  witness  to  corroborate  what  Mur- 
rell  should  say;  for,  secun  in  the  absence  of  Mur- 
r.ll,  tin  wlmlr  House  combine  was  denying  every- 
thing. One  day  (in  Sc|  .  1902)  Mr.  Folk 

d  one  of  them,  George  F.  Robertson,  in4 
oAot, 

••y  had  a  long  talk  top-  d  Mr.  Folk 

asked  him,  as  he  had  time  and  again,  to  tell  what 
he  knew  about  th.  Suburban  deal. 

I  have  told  you  many  times,  Mr.  Folk," 
said  Robertson,  "  that  I  know  nothing  about 
that." 


132      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

"  What  would  you  say  if  you  should  si  •  Mur- 
rc-11  here?  "  Mr.  Folk  Mked 

M  Mimvll!"  exclaimed  Robertson.  "That's 
good,  that  is.  Why,  yes,  I'd  like  to  sec  Murrcll." 

Hi-  was  laughing  as  Mr.  Folk  went  to  tin-  door 
and  called,  "  Mi.rrdl."  Murivll  walked  in.  Rob- 
ertson's smile  pas-,  d.  He  gripped  his  seat,  and 
arose  like  a  man  lifted  by  an  electric  shock.  Once 
on  his  feet,  he  stood  there  staring  as  at  a  ghost. 

"  Murrcll,"  said  Mr.  Folk  quietly,  M  the  jig  is 
up,  isn't  it?" 

"  Yes,"  said  Murrcll,  "  it's  all  up." 

"  You've  told  everything?  " 

"  Everything." 

Robertson  sank  into  his  chair.  When  he  had 
time  to  recover  his  self-control,  Mr.  Folk  asked 
him  if  he  was  ready  to  talk  about  the  Suburban 
deal. 

"  Well,  I  don't  see  what  else  I  can  do,  Mr.  Folk  ; 
you've  got  me." 

Robertson  told  all,  and,  with  Murrell  and 
Turner  and  Stock  and  the  rolls  of  money  to  sup- 
port him,  Mr.  Folk  indicted  for  bribery  or  per- 
jury, or  both,  the  remaining  members  of  the  House 
combine,  sixteen  men  at  one  swoop.  Some  es- 
caped. One,  Charles  Kelly,  a  leading  witness  in 
another  case,  fled  to  Europe  with  more  money  than 
anyone  believed  he  owned,  and  he  returned  after 


-II  \\IKLESSNESS  OF  ST.  LOUIS  188 
a  high  time  with  plenty  left.  A  leading  financier 
of  Missouri  went  away  at  about  the  §ame  time, 
nn.l  when  he  got  back,  at  about  the  tame  time 
with  Kelly,  the  statute  of  limitation  in  the  finan- 
cier's cftse  covered  them  both. 

\\  .th  all  his  success  these  losses  were  made  the 
most  of;  it  was  remarked  that  Mr.  Folk  had  not 
yet  convicted  a  very  rich  man.  The  Snyder  case 
was  coming  up,  and  with  it  a  chance  to  show  that 

the  power  of  money  was  not  irresi*' 
Snyder,  now  a  banker  in  Kansas  City,  did  not 
deny  or  attempt  to  disprove  th.  charges  of  bri- 
bery ;  he  made  his  defense  his  claim  to  continuous 
residence  in  the  State.  Mr.  Folk  was  not  taken 
unawares;  he  proved  the  bribery  and  he  proved 
the  non-residence  too,  and  the  banker  was  sen- 
tenced to  five  years*  imprisonment. 

One   ot  <md,    that   of  Edmund 

Bench  of  the  House  combine,  and  he  was  con- 
(1  of  bribery  and  perjury.     But  all  interest 
red  now  in  the  trial  of  Edward  Butler,  the 
boat,  who,  tin    people  said,  would  not  be  iml 
who,    indict.-d,    they   said,   would    MW   1"     • 
Now   th-  saying  he  would  never  be  con- 

ed. 

When  Boss  Tweed  was  tried  in  New  York,  his 

power  was  broken,  his  machine  smashed,  his  money 

\  and  tin-  people  were  worked  up  to  a  fury 


184      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

against  him.  The  most  eminent  members  of  the 
New  York  bar  prosecuted  him.  The  most  emi- 
nent members  of  the  St.  Louis  Bar  were  engaged 
to  defend  Butler.  He  was  still  the  boss,  he  had 
millions  of  his  own,  and  back  of  him  were  the  re- 
sources, financial  and  political,  of  the  leading  men 
of  St.  Louis.  That  the  people  were  against  him 
appeared  in  only  one  sign,  that  of  the  special 
juries,  carefully  chosen  to  keep  out  men  privately 
known  to  be  implicated.  These  juries  had  in- 
variably convicted  the  boodlers.  Butler  asked  to 
IM  tried  in  some  other  town.  Mr.  Folk  suggested 
Columbia,  the  university  town  of  the  State  of 
>uri. 

Columbia  was  chosen,  and  Butler's  sons  went 
up  there  with  their  heelers  to  "  fix  the  town." 
They  spent  money  freely,  and  becniiM  the  loafers 
drank  with  them  plentifully,  the  Butlerites  thought 
they  "had  the  town  right."  But  they  did  not 
know  Columbia;  neither  did  Butler.  When  he 
stepped  off  the  train,  he  asked  genially  what  the 
business  of  the  town  was. 

"  Education,"  was  the  answer. 

"Education!"  he  blurted.  "That's  a  h— 1 
of  a  business !  "  And  he  conducted  himself  as  if 
he  did  not  understand  what  it  meant.  His  friends 
having  prepared  the  way  for  a  "  good  fellow," 
Butler  set  about  proving  himself  such,  and  his 


9HAMELE88NE88  OP  8T.  LOUIS   1*5 

reception  in  th.-  'room*  and  streets  was  10  flat- 
^  that  it  w&»  pr<  M|  th.it  I-',, Ik 

would  never  leave  Coluinl  MI  uh\«.  liut  Mr.  Folk 
mid.  iMood  the  people  better.  Stanch  a*  the  lead- 
ing interests  of  St.  Louis  were  again>t  hi 
always  held  that  hi-  millim-hing  juries  imant  that 
Client  people  of  St.  LouU  were  against  boo- 
dlers  and  out  in  the  State  I  till  Mir 

this.     Mo  was  right.     There  was  no  demonstra- 
tion for  luiii.     He  was  welcomed,  Imt  in  decorous 
fashion;  and  all  he  saw  by  way  of  prejudice  was 
look  out  of  kind  eyes  that  went  with 
tin    warm  pressure  of  strange  hands.     When  the 
was  drawn,  nan  on  it  proved  to  be  a 

Democrat,  and  three  wen    HM-IM|»«TS  of  the  Demo- 
•  >unty  Committi.        If]     I     !k  was  urged 
these,  i  ',  Colonel   HutK-r 

was  at  the  head  of  tlu-ii  II 

th.  :M.      Hi    misfit   as  well  have  objected  to   the 
jud^t-,  .Inhn  A.  Hockaday,  who  also  was  a  I)< 

Xo,  sir,"  said  M.    Pofl  ;  "  I  am  a  Demo- 
uid   I    will   try    Hut  NT  l>efore  a  Democratic 
judge  and  a  Democratic  jn 

The  trial  was  a  scene  to  save  out  of  nil  tin- 

IMICSS  before  and  aft.  r   it.      Tin-  littlr  old 

courthouse  headed  one  end  of  a  short  main  street, 

the  univep.it v  the  other:  fanners'  mule  teams  were 

hit  died  all  along  between.     From  far  and  near 


THE  SHAME  OF  Till     (HIES 

people  came  to  see  this  trial,  and,  with  the  sig- 
nificance of  it  ill  mind,  men  halted  to  n-ad  OVCT 
the  entrance  to  the  court  these  words,  chiseled 
long  ago:  "Oh,  Justice,  \\h,-M  dri\m  from  other 
habitations,  make  this  thy  dwcllin^-pla  You 

could  >ee  the  appropriateness  <>f  that  legend  take 
hold  of  men,  and  in  the  spirit  of  it  they  passed 
into  the  dingy  courtroom.  There  the  rows  of 
intent  fi  (1  to  express  that  same  sentiment. 

The  jury  looked,  the  judge  personified  it.  He 
alone  was  cold,  but  he  was  attentive,  deliherate, 
and  reasonable;  you  were  sure  of  his  common 
sense;  you  understood  his  rulings;  and  of  his  up- 
rightness you  were  convinced  by  the  way  he  seemed 
to  lean,  just  a  little,  toward  the  prisoner.  I  don't 
believe  they  will  find  any  errors,  however  trivial, 
on  which  to  reverse  John  A.  Hockaday.*  1  \  n 
the  prosecutor  was  fair.  It  was  not  Edward  Hut 
ler  who  was  on  trial,  it  was  the  State;  and  never 
before  did  Mr.  Folk  plead  so  earnestly  for  this 
conception  of  his  work.  Outside,  in  the  churches, 
prayer-meetings  were  held.  These  were  private 
and  undemonstrative;  the  praying  citi/ens  did  not 
tell  even  Mr.  Folk  that  thcv  PefC  asking  their 
God  to  give  him  strength.  Indirectly  it  came  to 
him,  and,  first  fine  sign  as  it  was  of  approval  from 
his  client,  the  people,  it  moved  him  deeply.  And 
*See  Pott  Script um,  end  of  chapter. 


>ll  \\ll.l  I  —  M  SS  OP  ST.  LOUIS    187 
,  tie  plain  case  plainly  stated,  he  mm! 
final  appeal  to  the  j  address  wiu  a  »tate- 

the  impersonal  signifleanc* 
dene-  itc's  need  of  patriotic  *« 

1110.    **  Missouri,  Missouri,"  he  said  softly, 
with  fig  ftincvr  •     .   "  I   am  pUvi 

X   for   t  mrv   tin 

dentood.     The  judge  was  on! 

ii*  out  with  them, 
when    they    came    back    th  was, 

yean." 

That    wa*     M  What    of    St.    Louis? 

ire  ago,  U'I.MI   Hutlcr  was  young  in 

UAS  caught   gambling,  and   with   the 
rhargr  JM -ruling  against  him  >      I          >  FO«C  to  clial- 
lengc  him.      Mrt-tings   U.T.    h.  !<l  all   «»\,  r   th. 
—one  in   tin-    1  nge  downtown — to  denounce 

th.    |  who,  an  offense  always,  had 

dared    commit    tin-    fYlony    of    gambling.       Now, 

\  ict.  (1    anil    ",-nt. 

what    did   Bt  ]        -   do?     The  first 
comment    I    hranl    in  n   we  all  got 

back  that  day  was  that  "  Hutl.  r  won  wear 

the  stripes.*9      I    h.  -ml  it    time  and  again,  ami 

it  from  banker  and  barber  there  to-day. 
Hutler  hinis.lt'  h.  hived  decent  IN.  Me  staye<l  in- 
doors for  a  few  weeks — till  a  committee  of  ritiMns 
from  the  best  residence  section  called  upon  him 


THE  SHAME  OF  TIIK  CITIES 
to  come   forth   and    put    through    the  House  of 
Delegates  a  bill  for  the  improvement  of  a  shv.  t 
in  their  neighborhood;  and  Butler  had  this  done! 

One  of  thr  lir>t  greetings  to  Mr.  Folk  \\as  a 
warning  from  a  high  source  that  now  at  length 
he  had  gone  far  enough,  and  on  the  heels  of  this 
came  an  order  from  tin  Police  Department  that 
i  HIT  all  communications  from  him  to  tin- 
police  should  be  made  in  writing.  This  meant 
slow  arrests;  it  meant  that  the  fight  was  to  go 
on.  Well,  Mr.  Folk  had  meant  to  go  on,  any- 
way. 

"  Officer,"  he  said  to  the  man  who  brought  the 
message,  "  go  back  to  the  man  who  sent  you,  and 
say  to  him  that  I  understand  him,  and  that  here- 
after all  my  communications  with  his  department 
will  be  in  the  form  of  indictments." 

That  department  retreated  in  haste,  explaining 
and  apologizing,  and  offering  all  possible  facili- 
ties. Mr.  Folk  went  on  with  his  business.  He 
put  on  trial  Henry  Nicolaus,  the  brewer,  accused 
of  bribery.  Mr.  Nicolaus  pleaded  that  he  did 
not  know  what  was  to  be  the  use  of  a  note  for 
$140,000  which  he  had  endorsed.  And  on  this 
the  judge  took  the  case  away  from  the  jury  and 
directed  a  verdict  of  not  guilty.  It  was  the  first 
case  Mr.  Folk  had  lost.  He  won  the  next  eight, 
all  boodle  legislators,  making  his  record  fourteen 


BHAMELE88NE8S  OF  8T.  LOUIS    189 

M>»   om-.      Hut    tin-  Su|>rcroe  Court,   ( 

!  iminalft,  and 

won    th.-ir  first    fight    thm.*       The  Mcysen- 
burg  cue  was  lent  back  for  retrial. 

I  »lk   ha*  work  ahead  of  him   for  the  two 

years  remaining  '-mi,  ami  he  in  the  man 

it   all   through.      Hut   where  if  it  all   to 

There  are  more  men  to  I)-  nany 

I  much  more  cornjp- 

>clo«ed.     Hut  the  people 

know  enough.  What  arc  they  going  to  do 
about 

y  have  had  one  opportunity  already  to 
I     \         bar  (  I'.M)^),  just  h<  for.-  th«-  Hutl.T  Yer- 
l.ut  nftrr  tli«-  trial  was  begun,  th.-re  was  an 
on.     Some  of  the  offices  to  be  lill«<l  tni^ht 
have  to  do   with  hoodlin  Mr.    Folk  and 

boodl  tin   natural  ivsiir,  hut  th»-  politicians 

!-«!  it.      N.-ith.  r  party  ^  Folk. 

Hi 'Mi  parties  took  counsel  of  Hutl<  r  in  making  up 
tlu-ir  tirkrt.s,  and  tlu-y  satisfied  him.  Tin-  Dimo- 
Crab*  did  not  im-ntion  I-'olk\  namr  in  the  plat- 
form, and  they  nominated  Butler's  son  for  the 
seat  in  Congress  from  which  he  had  repeatedly 
been  ousted  for  fraud  at  the  polls. 

a  Why?  "  I  asked  a  DIM  who  said 

he  control!,  d  all  hut  four  districts  in  his  organiza- 
tion. 

•See  Pott  Script**,  end  of  chu; 


;  io     TIII:  SIIAMI:  OF  Tin:  CITIES 

"  Because  I  needed  those  Butler  districts,"  lie 

answi  nil. 

44  But  isn't  there  enough  anti-boodling  scnti- 
nuMit  in  this  town  to  offset  those  districts?" 

M  I  don't  think  so." 

IVrhaps  he  was  right.  And  yet  those  juries 
and  those  prayers  must  mean  something. 

.Mr.  Folk  says,  "  Ninct  y-nine  per  cent,  of  tin- 
people  an-  honest;  only  one  per  cent,  is  dishorn-l. 
But  the  one  per  cent,  is  perniciously  active."  In 
other  words,  the  people  are  sound,  hnt  without 
leaders.  Another  official,  of  irreproachahlc  char- 
acter himself,  said  that  the  trouble  was  there  was 
44  no  one  fit  to  throw  the  first  stone." 

However,  this  may  be,  here  are  the  facts: 

In  the  midst  of  all  these  sensations,  and  this 
obvious,  obstinate  political  rottenness,  the  inno- 
cent citizens,  who  must  be  at  least  a  decide 
minority,  did  not  register  last  fall.  Butler,  tin- 
papers  said,  had  great  furniture  vans  going  about 
with  men  who  were  said  to  be  repeaters,  and  yet 
the  registration  was  the  lowest  in  many  years. 
When  the  Butlerized  tickets  were  announced,  there 
was  no  audible  protest.  It  was  the  time  for  an 
independent  movement.  A  third  ticket  might  not 
have  won,  but  it  would  have  shown  the  politicians 
(whether  they  counted  them  in  or  out)  how  many 
honest  votes  there  wen-  in  the  city,  and  what  they 


- 1 1 AMELES8NE8S  OF  ST.  LOUIS    1  1 1 

would  have  to  reckon  with  in  the  force  of  public 
Nothing  of  the  sort  wa*  done.     St. 
Louis,  r  v,  and  dc«poilcdv  was  busy  nith 

busineM. 

A i  coming  M>on.      In  April 

•  for  tin  la  tor*,  and 

!   MM  ml. IN    I. .is  I  most 

of  the  corrupt  inn,  you  would  think  bomllin^  uould 
Min-ly  be  an  i»u«-  then.      I  doubt  it.      When  I  waa 
in  .I.muar\  (  1'JO:;  ).  the   politician*  v 

iiin^j  to  kiip  it  nut,  and  tin  tr  in-.  n:..us  .schfliH*  wa« 

•  .  k- f  .   th.it    i»  to  say,  each 
group  of  leaders  would  MUMM    half  • 

uho  wrrr  to  br  put   .-•  •  >,  ni.'ikn 

st  at  nil.     Ami  to  a\oid  suspicion,  thcsenom- 
<ms  were  to  be  except  innalljr,  yes,  "  remark- 
ably good."0 

That  is  the  old  Duller  non-partisan  or  bi-par- 
tisan  system.  It  .  manatcs  now  fr«nn  the  rich 
nun  back  of  the  rin^,  but  it  means  t  ring 

is  intact,  alert,  and  hopeful.     They  arc  "  play- 
Th«-  convicts  sitting  in  the  munici- 
pal asseniblv,  the  convicts  appealing  to  the  h 
courts,   the    rich   nun   abroad,   the  bankers  down 
town — all  are  waiting  for  something.     What  are 

Ani tin«j  for? 

Charles  Kratz,  the  ex-pre*i  the  Con 

•See  I'ott  Script  mm,  end  of  cfa«i 


us     Tin:  si i AMI:  OF  Tin:  CITIES 

1  and  go-between  of  the  Council  combine,  the 
fugitive  from  justice,  who,  by  his  flight,  blocks 
the  way  to  the  exposure  and  conviction  of  tin- 
rich  and  influential  men  who  are  holding  Un- 
people of  Missouri  in  cluck  and  keeping  boodling 
from  going  before  the  people  as  a  political  issue, 
this  criminal  exile,  thus  backed,  was  asked  this 
question  in  Mexico,  and  here  is  the  answer  lu- 
re turned: 

"  I  am  waiting  for  Joe  Folk's  term  to  expire. 
Then  I  am  going  home  to  run  for  Governor  of 
Missouri  and  vindication." 

Post  Scriptum,  December,  1904.— The  tickets 
were  not  "  remarkably  good."  "  Boodle  "  was  not 
in  the  platform,  nor  "  reform."  The  bi-partisan 
boodlers,  with  reformers  and  "  respectable  "  busi- 
ness men  for  backers,  faced  it  out,  and  Boss  Butler 
reorganized  the  new  House  of  Delegates  with  his 
man  for  Speaker  and  the  superintendent  of  his 
garbage  plant  (in  the  interest  of  which  he  offered 
the  bribes  for  which  he  was  convicted)  for  chair- 
man of  the  Sanitary  Committee. 

And  the  Supreme  Court  of  Missouri  reversed 
his  case  and  all  the  other  boodle  cases  one  by  one, 
then  by  wholesale.  The  whole  machinery  of 
justice  broke  down  under  the  strain  of  boodle 
pull. 


BE  \MM  KS8NES8  OP  ST.  LOUIS    148 
Meanwhile,  however,  Mr.  Folk  uncovered  cor- 
in  the  State  and,  announcing  him* 

'  .overnor,  ha*  appealed  from  the 

i  tlu    IYo|ilr,  from  the  City  of  !*•     1 

to  tin   >•  Miv»ouri. 


ASHAMED 


PITTSBURG:  A  CITY  A-II  \M1.I) 
(May.  1903) 

MlNNKAI'OUS     Was     nil     lAamplr     i,f     polio-     rornip 

Louis  of  finai  i 

Inir^  in  an  example  of  both  polio-  and  fina 

iption.     'I'll,  tun  of  M.I  each 

ilicial  who  has  exposed  them.  1'ittslmrg  has 
had  no  such  man  and  no  exposure.  The  city  ha* 
been  described  physically  as  **  Hell  with  t! 
off'*;  politically  it  is  hell  with  tin-  lit!  on. 
I  i  not  going  t(>  lift  the  lid.  The  exposition 
of  what  the  people  know  and  stand  is  the  purpose 
of  these  articles,  not  the  exposure  of  corruption, 
mid  the  exposure  of  I'ittslmrg  is  not  necessary. 
Tin-re  are  earnest  men  in  the  town  who  decla 
must  blow  up  of  itself  soon.  I  douht  that  ;  l>nt 
even  if  it  does  burst,  the  people  of  Pittsburg  will 
learn  little  more  than  they  know  now.  It  is  not 
ignorant-.-  that  keeps  An  ens  sub- 

m  it  indifference.  The  Pittsburgers 
know,  and  a  strong  minority  of  them  care;  tln-y 
have  risen  against  their  it,  only 

to  look  about  and  find  another  ring  around  them. 
Angry  and  a>hamed,  Pittshurg  is  a  type  of  the 
that  has  tried  to  be  free  and  fai 
147 


lis      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

A  sturdy  city  it  is,  too,  the  second  in  lYnn-\l 
\ania.  Two  rivers  flow  past  it  to  make  a  third, 
the  Ohio,  in  front,  and  all  around  and  beneath  it 
an-  natural  gas  and  coal  which  feed  a  thousand 
furnaces  that  smoke  all  day  and  flame  all  ni^ht 
to  make  Pittsburg  the  Birmingham  of  America. 
Rich  in  natural  retOUrce§|  it  is  richest  in  the  qual- 
ity of  its  population.  Six  days  and  six  nights 
these  people  labor,  molding  iron  and  forging 
steel,  and  they  are  not  tin-d:  on  the  seventh  day 
they  rest,  because  that  is  the  Sabbath.  They  are 
Scotch  Presbyterians  and  Protestant  Irish.  This 
stock  had  an  actual  majority  not  many  years  ago, 
and  now,  though  the  population  has  grown  to 
354,000  in  Pittsburg  proper  (counting  Allegheny 
across  the  river,  130,000,  and  other  communities, 
politically  separate,  but  essentially  integral  parts 
of  the  proposed  Greater  Pittsburg,  the  total  is 
750,000),  the  Scotch  and  Scotch-Irish  still  pre- 
dominate, and  their  clean,  strong  faces  charac- 
terize the  crowds  in  the  streets.  Canny,  busy,  and 
brave,  they  built  up  their  city  almost  in  secret, 
making  millions  and  hardly  mentioning  it.  Not 
till  outsiders  came  in  to  buy  some  of  them  out 
did  the  world  (and  Pittsburg  and  some  of  the 
millionaires  in  it)  discover  that  the  Iron  City  had 
been  making  not  only  steel  and  glass,  but  multi- 
millionaires. A  banker  told  a  business  man  as  a 


,  i  ii  in    \HI  \\ii 

t  one  day  about  three  yearn  ago  that  within 
si\    month*  n  **  I  f  about  a  hundred  new 

million. iin»*  would  be  born  in   PJ^I.ur-,"  and  the 
hirth*  happened  on  time.     And  more  betide.    Hut 

Mi.-  bloom  of  millions  did   not    hurt 
Pitulmrg  is  an  unpn  -trillion*,  pro*perou«  city  of 
tremendouM  industry  and  healthy,  »teady  men. 

or  a*  it  i*  in  •<>:  r  retpecti,  how- 

Scotch  Irish  Pittshnrtf,  politically,  U  no  bet- 
.;ui  Iris!    \  or  Scandinavian  Minne- 

apolis,  and   littlr   brttrr   than   (iirnmn   St.    Louis. 
These  people,  like  any  other  strain  of  the  free 
i,    have   despoil«<l    th«-    ^o\.nnnent — de- 
*,  1.  t    it   be  despoiled,  and  bowed  to  the 
despoiling   boss.     There    i*    nothing    ;M    the    un- 

i  excuse  that  this  or  reign  na' 

ality  has  prostitute  d  u  our  great  and  glorious  in- 
stitutions."    We  all  do  it,  all  breeds  alike.     And 
is  nothing  in   the  complaint   that    the  lower 
of  our  city    populations    are   the   sourer 
of  our  disgrace.     In   St.  Louis  corruption  came 
from    tin-   top,    in    Minneapolis   from   the  bottom. 
I      Pittshuro;  it  comes  from  both  ext:  ,  but 

it  began  ah< 

The  railroads  began  the  corruption  of  this  « 
There  "  always  was  some  dishonesty ,w  as  the  old- 
est pulJif  UK -n  I  talked  with  said,  but  it  was  occa- 
!  and  i  riinin  il  till  the  first  great  corporation 


150      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

made  it  business  like  and  r« -pert  aide.  The  mu- 
nicipality issued  bond >  to  help  tin-  infant  railroads 
to  develop  tin-  city,  and,  as  in  so  many  American 
cities,  the  roads  repudiated  the  debt  and  intend, 
and  went  into  politics.  The  Pennsylvania  Hail- 
road  was  in  the  system  from  the  start,  and,  M 
the  other  roads  came  in  and  found  the  city  gov- 
ernment bought  up  by  those  before  them,  they 
purchased  their  rights  of  way  by  outbribing  the 
older  roads,  then  joined  the  ring  to  acquire  more 
rights  for  themselves  and  to  keep  belated  rivals 
out.  As  corporations  multiplied  and  capital 
branched  out  corruption  increased  naturally,  but 
the  notable  characteristic  of  the  "  Pittsburg  plan  " 
of  misgovernment  was  that  it  was  not  a  hapha/ard 
growth,  but  a  deliberate,  intelligent  organization. 
It  was  conceived  in  one  mind,  built  up  by  one 
will,  and  this  master  spirit  ruled,  not  like  Croker 
in  New  York,  a  solid  majority;  nor  like  Butler 
in  St.  Louis,  a  bi-partisan  minority ;  but  the  whole 
town — financial,  commercial,  and  political.  Tin- 
boss  of  Pittsburg  was  Christopher  L.  Magee,  a 
great  man,  and  when  he  died  he  was  regarded  by 
many  of  the  strongest  men  in  Pittsburg  as  their 
leading  citizen. 

"  Chris,"  as  he  was  called,  was  a  charming  char 
acter.      I  have  seen  Pittsburgers  grow  black    in 
the  face  denouncing  his  ring,  but  when  I  asked, 


PUT-  (  rn    \HI  \MI  i> 

\\  *  man  was  Magee?"  thej  would 

cool  and  sa\ .  <>  was  one  of  the  best 

III.  II     (in<l     e\tr     limile."  If     1      Mllll-d,     11,,  \      u.iril.l 

§ay,  "  That  in  all  ri^ht.     You  smile,  and  you  can 
go  ahead  and  show  up  the  rin^       N      ;   may  de- 
this  town  as  the  worst  in  the  count 

.;•  t   Magee  wrong  ami  \.-Yil  |mVi-  all  I 
Imrtf  u|>  in  /inns."  r»  they  would  tell  me  that 

'•  M  i ....         'MK»d    the    town,"     OT|     pokftpt, 
would  speak  of  tin-  fuml  raising  to  met  a  monu- 
ment t<>  th.   dead  boat. 

So  I   must   be  cartful.      An. I,    to   begin    with, 

M  <li<l  not,  t.  clmirullv  >}>  rol>  tin-  town. 

That  was  not  his  way,  and  it  would  be  a  carelessly 
ininrcessary  way  in  IVnnsylvania.  But  surely 
he  does  not  deserve  a  inomum  nt . 

Magee  was  an  Am.  rii.m.     His  paternal  great- 

Jf'.ith.r  s,r\,<l  in  tl       ii  Jinn,  and  settlrd 

I'       !|urg  at  the  close  of  the  war.    Christopher 
was  born  on  Good  Friday,  April   II,  1848.      II 
was  sent  to  school  till  he  was  fifteen  years  old. 
Then  his  father  <ii<  <!,  and  "  Squire  "  o  my  " 

Steele,  In-  uncle,  a  boss  of  that  day,  gave  him 
his  start  in  life  with  a  place  in  tl  Treasury. 

When  just  twenty-one,  he  made  him  cashier,  and 
two  years  later   Chris  had  himself  clc< 
Treasurer  by  a  majority  of  1100  on  a  tirket  tin- 
head  of  which  was  beaten  by  1500  votes. 


152      THE  SHAME  OF  THK  CITIES 

Such  was  his  popularity;  and,  though  he  sys- 
tematized and  r;i}»it ali/id  it,  it  lasted  to  tin-  <  ml, 
for  tlu-  foundation  thereof  was  goodn<->s  of  heart 
and  personal  charm.  Ma^ce  was  tall,  strong,  and 
gracefully  built.  His  hair  \\a>  dark  till  it  turned 
gray,  thru  his  short  mustache  and  his  eyebrows 
held  black,  and  his  face  expressed  easily  sure  p<>\\  •  i- 
and  genial,  hearty  kindness.  But  he  was  ambitious 
for  power,  and  all  his  goodness  of  heart  was  di 
nctrd  by  a  shrewd  mind. 

When  Chris  saw  the  natural  following  gather- 
ing about  him  he  realized,  young  as  he  was,  tin- 
use  of  it,  and  he  retired  from  office  (holding  only 
a  fire  commissionership)  with  the  avowed  pur- 
pose of  becoming  a  boss.  Determined  to  make 
his  ring  perfect,  he  went  to  Philadelphia  to  study 
the  plan  in  operation  there.  Later,  when  t  la- 
Tweed  ring  was  broken,  he  spent  months  in  New 
York  looking  into  Tammany's  machine  methods 
and  the  mistakes  which  had  led  to  its  exposure 
and  disruption.  With  that  cheerful  candor  which 
softens  indignation  he  told  a  fellow-townsman 
(who  told  me)  what  he  was  doing  in  New  York; 
and  when  Magee  returned  he  reported  that  a  rin# 
could  be  made  as  safe  as  a  bank.  He  had,  to 
start  with,  a  growing  town  too  busy  for  self- 
government  ;  two  not  very  unequal  parties,  neither 
of  them  well  organized;  a  clear  field  in  his  own, 


iTlTSBUId.     k  CIT!    ASH  \Ml  .1) 
th«- majorit\  p.irt\  in  tin  <  t  v,  county,  and  £• 

.-  wan  boodle,  Init   it  wn»  loosely  shared  by 

too  many   persons.      The   governing   instrument 

was  tlu-  old  >  h    lodged  all 

tin-  power* — legislative,  udmirn-t r,iti\. ,  and  <  xecu- 

in   tli«    rouneiU,  common   and  select.      The 

mayor  was  a  peace  offlcvr,   with    no   responsible 

power.      I  IK  I.  ..I.  th.  re  was  no  respon  »tny- 

Tin  n    u«r.    ti<>  <i<  |>  irtments.      Coinin 

Is    tin!    tin-    wnrk     tIMI.lllv     llnne    Bj    A%| 

innits,    and    tin-    rnuiiriliiicn,    unsaluri«(l    and    iin 
.  rahl«    indixidtiallv.  were  or^r  itn  what 

nii^i  •irome  a  combine  had  not   Magee  set 

about  establishing  t!  ;in  powor  tli 

To  control  counriU  M ,i^.<  the 

wards,  and  he  was  managing  this  successfully  at 

tries,  when  a  new  important  fi 

I    on    the    scene — William     Flinn.      Flinn 

was  Irish,  a  Protestant  of  Catholic  stock,  a  boss 

contractor,   and   a   natural   politician.       II.    beat 

Magee's   brothers    in   his   ward.     Magee 

laughed,    inquired,    and,   finding   him    a    man    of 

opp<>  ompleilK  -position  and  ta! 

took  him  into  a  partnership.     A  happy,  profitable 

.    it    lasted   for  life.     Magee  wanted 

power,     Minn     wraith.       Kach     got    both     these 

things;   hut    Magee   spent   his   wealth    for   more 

powi  'inn  spent  his  power  for  more  wealth. 


T1IK  SHAME  OF  Till:  (  ITIKS 
Ma^ec  was  tin-  sower,  Flinn  the  reaper.  In  deal- 
ing with  mm  they  came  to  be  necessary  to  each 
other,  these  two.  Magee  attracted  followers, 
Flinn  employed  them.  Tin-  men  Magee  won 
Flinn  compelled  to  obey,  and  those  he  lost  Magee 
won  back.  When  the  councils  WtK  fir^t  under  his 
control  Magee  stood  in  the  lobby  to  direct  them, 
always  by  suggestions  and  requests,  which  some- 
tinies  a  mean  and  ungrateful  fellow  would  say  ho 
could  not  heed.  Magee  told  him  it  was  all  right, 
which  saved  the  man,  but  lost  the  vote.  So  Flinn 
took  the  lobby  post,  and  he  said :  "  Here,  you  go 
and  vote  aye."  If  they  disobeyed  the  plain  order 
Flinn  punished  them,  and  so  harshly  that  tlmy 
would  run  to  Magee  to  complain.  He  comforted 
till-in.  "Never  mind  Flinn,"  he  would  say  sym- 
pathetically ;  "  he  gives  me  no  end  of  trouble,  too. 
But  I'd  like  to  have  you  do  what  he  asked.  Go 
and  do  it  for  me,  and  let  me  attend  to  Flinn.  I'll 
fix  him." 

Magee  could  command,  too,  and  fight  and 
punish.  If  he  had  been  alone  he  probably 
would  have  hardened  with  years.  And  so  Flinn, 
after  Magee  died,  softened  with  time,  but  too 
late.  He  was  useful  to  Magee,  Magee  was  in- 
dispensable to  him.  Molasses  and  vinegar,  diplo- 
macy and  force,  mind  and  will,  they  were  well 
mated.  But  Magee  was  the  genius.  It  was 


PITT8BUBO:  A  Cm    \-HAMED    155 

Magce    tlmt    laid    th*     plan*    they    worked    out 
• 
BOM  Magcc's  idea  was  not  to  corrupt  the 

government,  hut   to  be  it;  not   to  hire  vote*  in 
count  iN,  hut   to  own  councilmen;  and  so,  ha 
seized  control  of  hi*  organization,  he  nominated 

P  or  dependent  men  for  the  select  and 
nioii    councils.     Relatives    and    fri.  rids    wen- 
first    recourse,     th.  n    came    bartenders,    saloon- 
keepers, liquor  dealers,  and  others  allied   to  the 
vices,  who  were  subject  to  police  regulation  and 
depend- nt   in  a  business  way  upon  the  maladmin- 
istration of  law.     For  the  rest  he  j>  i  men 
who  had  no  visible  means  of  support,  and  to  main- 
i   In-   u-,,1   tin-  usual  means — patronage. 
And  to  make  his  dependents  secure  he  took  over 
the    county    jjnvrrnmrnl.      PitKlmrg    is    in    All.- 
gheny    County,    which    has    always    been    more 

Il<  publican   than   the  city.     No  m 
what  happened  in   ti  .   the  county  pay-roll 

was  always  Magec's,  and  he  made  the  county  part 
of  tho  city  govcrnnn 

\N  th  all  this  city  and  county  patronage  at  his 
Miigec  went  deliberately  about  under- 
mining tin-  DfiiKii-r.itic  party.  Thr  minority 
organization  is  useful  to  a  majority  leader;  it 
saves  him  trouble  and  worry  in  ordinary  times; 
in  party  crises  he  can  use  it  to  whip  lus  own  fol- 


156  TMK  SHAME  OF  Till:  CITIES 
lowers  into  line;  and  when  the  people  of  a  city 
in  revolt  it  is  essential  for  absolute  rule  that 
you  have  the  power  not  only  to  prevent  the 
minority  lenders  from  combining  with  the  good 
citi/ens,  but  to  unite  the  two  organizations  to 
whip  the  community  into  sh.-ipr.  M<>no\tr,  the 
ex  is  tenet-  of  a  supposed  opposition  party  splits 
the  independent  vote  and  helps  to  keep  ulive  that 
sentiment,  "  loyalty  to  party,"  which  is  one  of 
the  best  holds  the  boss  has  on  his  unruly  sub- 
jects. All  bosses,  as  we  have  seen  in  Minneapolis 
and  St.  Louis,  rise  above  partisan  bias.  Magee, 
the  wisest  of  them,  was  also  the  most  generous, 
and  he  liked  to  win  over  opponents  who  were  use- 
ful to  him.  *  Whenever  he  heard  of  an  able  Demo- 
cratic worker  in  a  ward,  he  sent  for  his  own  Re- 
publican leader.  "  So-and-so  is  a  good  man, 
isn't  he?"  he  would  ask.  "Going  to  give  you 
a  run,  isn't  he?  Find  out  what  he  wants,  and 
we'll  see  what  we  can  do.  We  must  have  him."' 
Thus  the  able  Democrat  achieved  office  for  him- 
self or  his  friend,  and  the  city  or  the  county  paid. 
At  one  time,  I  was  told,  nearly  one-quarter  of 
the  places  on  the  pay-roll  were  held  by  Democrats, 
who  were,  of  course,  grateful  to  Chris  M.I 
and  enabled  him  in  emergencies  to  wield  their  in- 
fluence against  revolting  Republicans.  Many  a 
time  a  subservient  Democrat  got  Republican  votes 


ITITSBUK<.      \   (  in    A-ll  \\IKI)    157 
to  beat   a  '*  dangerous "   Republican,  and  when 
Magec,  toward   tin-  mil  of  his  career,  wish« 
go  to  tl  ,,.tli  parties  united  in  his 

n  and  elected  him  uimnimouidy. 
1   isincss  men  came  almost  a*  cheap  as  poli- 
MS  and  '  ue  also  at  the  city's  expense. 

Magee  had  control  of  public  funds  awl  tin-  < 

po.sitories.     That  is  enough  for  tin-  average 
banker — not  only  for  him  that  is  chosen,  but  for 
him  also  that  may  some  day  hope  to  be  chosen 
am!  M  H.'th  the  best  of  those  in  Pitts 

burg.     This    s«-r\io-,    moreover,    not    only    kept 
tin-in   <!m-ilr,   but    gave   him  I  lit    at 

tlu-ir    banks.      Tlun,    too,    Flinn    an<l     Mi ...  •  ' 
operations  soon  developed  on  a  scale  which  made 
th.ir  husiw-ss   a'  to   tin-  largest  financial 

institutions  for  the  profits  on  their  loans,  and 
thus  enabled  thrin  to  di.strilnitr  awl  shun-  in  the 
golden  opportunities  of  big  deals.  There  are  ring 
I  in  I'itUburg,  ring  tru>t  companies,  and  ring 
brokers.  Thr  manufacturers  ami  tin-  imrchants 
were  kept  well  in  hand  by  many  little  muni 

ta    and    ;  ^,    Mich    as   switches,   wharf 

rights,  awl  st:  • '«>ns.  These  street 

-  are  a  tremendous  power  in  most  cities. 

i miry  <>  .  spreads  to  the  next 

block,  and  wants  tin-  twren.      In  St.  Louis 

ess  man  boodled  for  his  street.     In  Pitts- 


158  THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
burg  he  went  to  Magec,  and  I  have  heard  such 
a  man  praise  Chris,  "because  when  I  called  on 
him  his  outer  office  was  filled  with  waiting  poli- 
ticians, but  he  knew  I  was  a  business  man*  and  in 
a  hurry;  he  called  me  in  first,  and  he  gave  me  the 
street  without  any  fuss.  I  tell  you  it  was  a  sad 
day  for  Pittsburg  when  Chris  Magec  <li< •«!."  This 
business  man,  the  typical  American  merchant 
everywhere,  cares  no  more  for  his  city's  int 
than  the  politician  docs,  and  there  is  more  light 
on  American  political  corruption  in  such  a  speech 
than  in  the  most  sensational  exposure  of  details. 
The  business  men  of  Pittsburg  paid  for  their  little 
favors  in  "contributions  to  the  campaign  fund/' 
plus  the  loss  of  their  self-respect,  the  liberty  of 
the  citizens  generally,  and  (this  may  appeal  to 
their  mean  souls)  in  higher  taxes. 

As  for  the  railroads,  they  did  not  have  to  be 
bought  or  driven  in ;  they  came,  and  promptly, 
too.  The  Pennsylvania  appeared  early,  just  be- 
hind Magee,  who  handled  their  passes  and  looked 
out  for  their  interest  in  councils  and  afterwards 
at  the  State  Legislature.  The  Pennsylvania 
passes,  especially  those  to  Atlantic  City  and  Har- 
risburg,  have  always  been  a  "  great  graft  "  in 
Pittsburg.  For  the  sort  of  men  Magee  had  to 
control  a  pass  had  a  value  above  the  price  of  a 
ticket ;  to  "  flash  "  one  is  to  show  a  badge  of  power 


PITT8BURG:  A  CITY  ASHAMED    159 

and  relationship  to  the  ring.     The  big  ringsters, 

>un»e,  gut    (rum   the  railroad*  fi  help 

when  oornemi  in  hutincit  deaU — clock  tips,  shares 
in  •})*  t  other  financial  turns,  and  politi- 

cal support.     The   Pennsylvania    Railroad   is   a 
power  in    P.  nn-\  Uaniu  politic-*,  it  i«  part  of  the 
itf,  a  in  I  part  also  of  the  PitKlmrg  ring. 
The  city  paid  in  nil  sorts  of  right*  and  pri\  ilegea, 
fs,   hridgc*,   «tc.,   and    in   certain   periods   the 
OH   interests  of  the  city   were  sacrificed   to 
leave  tin    1  Ynnsylvania  Road  in  exclusive  control 
of  a  fn-i^lit   trailic  it  could  not  handle  alone. 

\\  ith  tlu-  cit  \ ,  tin-  county,  the  Republican  and 
Democratic  organizations,  the  railroads  and  other 
<>MN,  tin-  tin.-incitTs  and  the  business  men, 
all   urll    undrr   control,   Magee   needed   only    the 
State   to   make   liix    rule  absolute.     And   he  was 
n.titlrd  t,.  ,t       In  a  State  like  New  York,  where 
..ntn>ls  tin    Legislature  and  another 
the  people  in  tl  may  expect  some 

m   from   party  opposition.      In    Pennsyl- 
vania, where  the  Republicans  have  an  overwhelm- 
ing majority,    the  Legislature  at    Hamburg  is 
>ential  part  of  the  government  of  Pennsyl- 
vania cities,  and  that  is  ruled  by  a  State  ring. 
Magee's    ring    was    a    link    in    the    State    ring, 
and  it  was  no  more  than  right  that  the  State 
should  become  a  link  in  his  ring.     The  ar- 


160      THE  SHAM1     OF  TIIK  CITIES 
rangenient   was  easily  made.     One  man,  Matthew 
S.   Quay,   had    r«cci\«l    from    tlu-    people    all    the 
poucr  in   the  State,  and    M  iu    (^uay.      They 

came  to  an  uiuK  rstanding  without  the  least 
trouble.  Flinn  was  to  be  in  the  Senate,  Magee 
in  tin-  lobby,  and  they  were  to  give  unto  Quay 
political  support  for  his  business  in  the  State  in 
ivhmi  for  his  surrender  to  them  of  the  Stat.\ 
functions  of  legislation  for  the  city  of  I'itt.shurg. 
Now  such  understandings  are  common  in  our 
politics,  but  they  arc  vcrlial  iiMiallv  and  pretty 
well  kept,  and  this  of  Magee  and  Quay  was  also 
founded  in  secret  good  faith.  But  Quay,  in 
crimes,  has  a  way  of  straining  points  to  win,  and 
there  were  no  limits  to  Magee's  ambition  for 
power.  Quay  and  Magee  quarreled  constantly 
over  the  division  of  powers  and  spoils,  so  after 
a  few  years  of  squabbling  they  reduced  their 
agreement  to  writing.  This  precious  instrument 
has  never  been  published.  But  the  agreement 
was  broken  in  a  great  row  once,  and  when  William 
Flinn  and  J.  O.  Brown  undertook  to  settle  t In- 
differences and  renew  the  bond,  Flinn  wrote  out  in 
pencil  in  his  own  hand  an  amended  duplicate 
which  he  submitted  to  Quay,  whose  son  subse- 
quently gave  it  out  for  publication.  A  facsimile: 
of  one  page  is  reproduced  in  this  article.  Here 
is  the  whole  contract,  with  all  the  unconscious 


FACSIMILE    or    Till    FAMOUS    QUAT-FUXX    "MUTUAL    rOLRICAL 
AVD  BV11XEM   AOTAXTAOI   AOACSMCXT.** 


162      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITI1  s 

luiiuor  of  tin-  "  part  v  of  tlu-  fir-t  part  "  and  ''  said 
partv   of  the  second  part,"  a   political  Ir^al  con: 
innvial     in.Milt    to    a    people    boastful    of    M!| 

government  : 

•  Memorandum  and  agreement  between  M.  S.  Quay  of  the 
first  part  and  J.  O.  Brown  and  William  1  linn  of  the 
second  part,  the  consideration  of  this  agreement  being  the 
mutual  political  and  business  advantage  which  may  result 
there  f  n>i.  i. 

"  I  irst— The  said  M.  S.  Quay  is  to  have  the  benefit  of  the 
influence  in  all  matters  in  state  and  national  politics  of  the 
said  parties  of  the  second  part,  the  said  parties  agreeing 
that  they  will  secure  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  state 
and  national  convention,  who  will  be  guided  in  all  matters 
by  the  wishes  of  the  said  party  of  the  first  part,  and  who 
will  also  secure  the  election  of  members  of  the  state  senate 
from  the  Forty-third,  Forty-fourth,  and  Forty-fifth  MBft- 
torial  districts,  and  also  secure  the  election  of  members  of 
the  house  of  representatives  south  of  the  Monongahela  and 
Ohio  rivers  in  the  county  of  Allegheny,  who  will  be  guided 
by  the  wishes  and  request  of  the  said  party  of  the  first  part 
during  the  continuance  of  this  agreement  upon  nil  political 
matters.  The  different  candidates  for  the  various  positions 
mentioned  shall  be  selected  l»y  the  parties  of  the  second 
part,  and  all  the  positions  of  state  and  national  appoint- 
ments made  in  this  territory  mentioned  shall  be  sat 
tory  to  and  secure  the  indorsement  of  the  party  of  the 
second  part,  when  the  appointment  is  made  either  by  or 
through  the  party  of  the  first  part,  or  his  friends  or  political 
associates.  All  legislation  affecting  the  parties  of  the  second 
part;  affecting  cities  of  the  second  class,  shall  receive  the 
hearty  co-operation  and  assistance  of  the  party  of  the  first 
part,  and  legislation  which  may  affect  their  business  shall 
likewise  receive  the  hearty  co-operation  and  help  of  the 


I  I TTSBURG:  A  (  in     \HIAMED    165 

party  of  the  first  part.     It  Mn*  dUtinctly  understood  that 
Broaching  national  convention,  to  be  bdd  at  8t 
,-«t«  from  the  Twenty  second  rongieasiniail 
district  khall  neither  by  voice  nor  vote  do  other  than  what 
U  satisfactory  t.»  tl>e  party  of  the  first  part    The  party  of 
rit  part  agree*  to  u*e  hU  Influence  and  secure  the  sup- 
Is  friends  and  political  associates  to  Mipport  the 
Republican  county  and  <  when  nominated,  both  in 

i.urjc  and  Allegheny,  and  the  county  of  Alle- 
gheny, and  that  I,,-  will  <llscounteoan.  r  0*  factional  fighting 
by  his  friends  and  associates  for  county  otters  during  the 
fflnHnnfttV*^  of  this  agreement  This  agreement  Is  not  to  be 
binding  upon  the  parties  of  the  second  part  when  a  candl- 
dstr  r  ,,0re  who  [tic]  shall  reside  In  Allegheny 

county,  and  shall  only  be  binding  If  the  party  of  the  first 
part  U  a  candidate  for  United  States  senator  to  succeed 
himself  so  far  as  this  oftce  Is  concerned.  In  the  Forty- 
third  senatorial  district  a  new  senator  shall  be  efet 
succeed  Senator  Upperman.  In  the  Forty-fifth  senatorial 
district  the  party  of  the  first  part  shall  secure  the  with- 
drawal of  Dr.  A.  J.  Hnrrhfrld.  and  the  parties  of  the  second 
part  shall  withdraw  as  a  candidate  Senator  Steel,  and  the 
parties  of  the  second  part  shall  secure  the  election  of  some 
party  satisfactory  to  themselves.  In  the  Twenty-second 
congressional  district  the  candidates  for  congress  shall  be 
•elected  by  the  party  of  the  second  part  The  term  «•• 
agreement  to  I*  —  years  from  the  signing  thereof, 

and  shall  be  binding  upon  all  parties  when  signed  by  C.  L. 
Magee." 

Tims  was  the  city  of  PitKbur^  turned  over  by 

to  .-in  individual  to  do  with  as  he  pleased. 

Magee's  ring  was  compl*  t.       He  was   tl>. 

niiui  \v:i-  iiiciU,  tin-  county  was  theirs,  ami 

now  they  hail   tlu    State  Legislature  so  far  as 


164      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

Pittsburg  was  concerned.  Magee  and  Minn  \\ere 
thr  government  and  the  law.  How  could  they 
commit  a  crime?  If  they  u  anted  something  frou, 
tin-  city  they  pa.s.sed  an  ordinance  granting  it,  and 
if  some  other  ordinance  was  in  conflict  it  w.i 
pealed  or  aim -nded.  If  the  laws  in  the  State  stood 
in  the  way,  so  much  the  worse  for  the  laws  of 
the  State;  they  were  amended.  If  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  State  proved  a  barrier,  u  it  did  to 
all  special  legislation,  the  Legislature  enacted  a 
law  for  cities  of  the  second  class  ( which  was 
Pittsburg  alone)  and  the  courts  upheld  the  Legis- 
lature. If  there  were  opposition  on  the  side  of 
public  opinion,  there  was  a  use  for  that  also. 

The  new  charter  which  David  D.  Bruce  fought 
through  councils  in  1886-87  was  an  example  of 
the  way  Magee  and,  after  him,  Quay  and  other 
Pennsylvania  bosses  employed  popular  movements. 
As  his  machine  grew  Magee  found  council  com- 
mittees unwieldy  in  some  respects,  and  he  wanted 
a  change.  He  took  up  Brucc's  charter,  which 
centered  all  executive  and  administrative  power 
and  responsibility  in  the  mayor  and  heads  of  de- 
partments, passed  it  through  the  Legislature, 
but  so  amended  that  the  heads  of  departments 
were  not  to  be  appointed  by  the  mayor,  but 
elected  by  councils.  These  elections  were  by  ex- 
piring councils,  so  that  the  department  chiefs 


PITT8BURG:  A  CITY  ASHAMED   185 

,  and  with  tl  Mired  the  re- 

election  of  the  count  -ilium  w  ho  elected  them.  The 
Magee-Flinn  machine,  pcrft-«  n  made 

|K.TpctuatiiiK       1  know  .  it  iq 

HH\    <>tl  Tttiiiiiiany   in  comparison   i«  a 

plaything,   and    in    the   management    of   a 
Crokcr  wan  a  child  >  >ris  Magee. 

The  graft  of  1'itKhurg  fall*  conveniently  into 
four  classes:  franchises,  public  contracts,  vice, 
and  public  funds.  There  was,  betides  these,  a  lot 
of  miscellaneous  loot — public  supplies,  public 
li^htin^,  and  the  water  supply.  V«)ii  hear  of 
second-class  fire-en  pi  n  at  first-class  prices, 

water  rent*  from  the  public  works  kept  up  because 
a  private  concern  that  supplied  the  South  Side 
could  charge  no  more  than  the  city,  a  gas  con- 
tract to  supply  thr  city  lightly  availed  of.  Hut 

nnot  go  into  these.     Neither  can  I  stop  for 
U  of  the  system  by  which   public  funds 
were  left  at  no  interest  with  favored  deposit 

which  tin  city  borrowed  at  a  high  rate,  or 
tin-  removal  of  funds  to  a  bank  in  which  the  ring- 
stert  were  shareholders.  All  these  things  were 
managed  well  within  the  law,  and  that  was  the 
great  principle  underlying  the  PitNhurg  plan. 

The  \i(.    M:  example,  was  not  blackmail 

as  it  is  in  New  York  and  most  other  cities.  It  is 
a  legitimate  business,  conducted,  not  by  the  police, 


166      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

but  in  an  orderly  fashion  by  syndicates,  and  the 
chairman  of  one  of  the  parties  at  the  last  elec- 
tion said  it  was  worth  $250,000  a  year.  I  saw 
a  man  who  was  laughed  at  for  offering  $17,500 
for  the  slot-machine  concession ;  he  was  told  that 
it  was  let  for  much  more.  "  Speak-easies  "  (un- 
licensed drinking  places)  pay  so  well  that  when 
they  earn  $500  or  more  in  twenty-four  hours  their 
proprietors  often  make  a  bare  living.  Disorderly 
houses  are  managed  by  ward  syndicates.  Per- 
mi>Mon  is  had  from  the  syndicate  real  estate 
agent,  who  alone  can  rent  them.  The  syndicate 
hires  a  house  from  the  owners  at,  say,  $35  a 
month,  and  he  lets  it  to  a  woman  at  from  $35  to 
$50  a  week.  For  furniture  the  tenant  must  go 
to  the  "  official  furniture  man,"  who  delivers  $1000 
worth  of  "fixings"  for  a  note  for  $3000,  on 
which  high  interest  must  be  paid.  For  beer  the 
tenant  must  go  to  the  "  official  bottler,"  and  pay 
$2  for  a  one-dollar  case  of  beer;  for  wines  and 
liquors  to  the  "  official  liquor  commissioner,"  who 
charges  $10  for  five  dollars'  worth ;  for  clothes  to 
the  "  official  wrapper  maker."  These  women  may 
not  buy  shoes,  hats,  jewelry,  or  any  other  luxury 
or  necessity  except  from  the  official  concessionaries, 
and  then  only  at  the  official,  monopoly  prices.  If 
the  victims  have  anything  left,  a  police  or  some 
other  city  official  is  said  to  call  and  get  it  (there 


rni-  \  cm    \HI  \MI:D 

x- police  officials  in  Pitt-bur;.-         i 
is  blackmail  and  outside  the  system,  which  U  well 
understood  in  tin-  o>  nun,  in  va- 

rioiiH  walks  of  lift-,  told  me  separut,  1\   tin-  name* 
of  the  official  b<  NTH,  and  furni»hcr»; 

in-  notorious  hut  they  are  safe.     They  do 
nothing  ill--.il.     Oppressive,  wn-trh.  d.  what  you 

!  '.ttshurtf  system  10 §AJ 

That  was  the  keynote  of  tin-  I'liim  Magec  |> 
hut  this  rioc  ffraft  was  not   thiir  husiness.     They 
are  rndit<d  with  th.    -uppression  of  disorder  and 
decent  iu  .^ulations   of   vie.-,   uhic-h   is  a 

I'ittshur^.      I  know   it  is  said 
r  tin-  Philadelphia  and  Pitt-hur^  plans,  which 
•  ,  "  all  ^rat't   and  all  patronage  go 
across  one   tahle,"   but    if   any   '*  dirty   money " 
•!»••  Pittshur^  bosses  it  was,  so  far  as  I 
.   in   tin-  form  of  contributions  to  the 
party  fund,  and  rainr  from  thr  vice  dealers  only  as 
it  did  from  otln-r  business  men. 

Magec  and  Flinn,  owners  of  Pittsburg,  made 
-hur^  tlu-ir  business,  and,  monoix>lists   in  the 

economic  sense  of  the  word,  t! 
pared   to   exploit   it    as   if   it   wen-   their   }>; 
property.      For  convenience   they   divided  it   be- 
tween them.     Magee  took  the  financial  and 
porate  branch,  turning  the  streets  to  his  QMS, 
delivering  to  himself  franchises,  and  building  and 


168      THE  SI  I  AMI!  OF  THE  CITI1  S 

running  railways.  Flinn  wmt  in  for  public  con- 
tracts for  his  firm,  Booth  &  Flinn,  Limited,  and 
his  branch  boomed.  Old  streets  wnv  ivpa\(<l, 
new  ones  laid  out;  whole  districts  wnv  improved, 
parks  made,  and  buildings  m-ct.-d.  Tin-  im 
provement  of  tluir  city  went  on  at  a  great  rate 
for  years,  with  only  one  period  of  cessation,  and 
the  period  of  economy  was  when  Magee  was 
building  so  many  traction  lines  that  Booth  & 
Flinn,  Ltd.,  had  all  they  could  do  with  this  work. 
It  was  said  that  no  other  contractors  had  an  ade- 
quate "  plant  "  to  supplement  properly  the  work 
of  Booth  &  Flinn,  Ltd.  Perhaps  that  was  why 
this  firm  had  to  do  such  a  large  proportion  of 
the  public  work  always.  Flinn's  Director  of 
Public  Works  was  E.  M.  Bigelow,  a  cousin  of 
Chris  Magee  and  another  nephew  of  old  Squire 
Steele.  Bigelow,  called  the  Extravagant,  drew 
the  specifications;  he  made  the  awards  to  the 
lowest  responsible  bidders,  and  he  inspected  and 
approved  the  work  while  in  progress  and  when 
done. 

Flinn  had  a  quarry,  the  stone  of  which  was 
specified  for  public  buildings;  he  obtained  the 
monopoly  of  a  certain  kind  of  asphalt,  and  that 
kind  was  specified.  Nor  was  this  all.  If  the 
official  contractor  had  done  his  work  well  and  at 
reasonable  prices  the  city  would  not  have  suffered 


nil  -  \  cm    vsn  \MI  i)    i.  > 

I >t it  hi-,  method*  were  §o  oppressive  upon 

holder*  that  they  cau*ed  a  scandal.     No 

ii    WAS    taken,    however,    till    Ol 

took,  a  merchant,  u.  wrath,  contested 

the     contracts     and     fought     them     through     the 

I      -  single  citizen**  lon^,  |M.I\*    light  in 

>f  the  finest  •    iminici- 

pnl   government.      Tin     frowns    and    warnings   of 

coward  1\     f«  ll"u  nti/niH    did    not    movi-    him,    nor 

!.«»vcntt    <»f   othrr   hijsiiuss    nnii,    tin-    threat* 

the    riiitf,    and    tin-    ridirulr    of    rin^    organ*. 

George  \\ .  (Jutlii  .  and  though 

i^ht    on    iindaiiiitfd.    th.-v    were    tx 
again  and  n^a in.      Tin    D  I  Work* 

controlled   tin-   initiatix.-    in    .  M-»-i-din^ 

chose  the  judge  who  appoint  r>,  uith 

thr    rexul'.    Iff.  Md  •  ''<!.    that    the    l)e 

report*.     Know- 
ing   no  M        lid     ntork    photographed 

KlinnV  paveini-nts  at  places  wh«-re  they  were  torn 
up  to  *how  that  '*  large  stone*,  a*  they  were  ex- 
cavated from  sewer  trenches,  briil  bat*,  and  the 
debris  of   <>ld   coal-tar  sidewalk*  were  promiscu- 
ously dumped  in   to  make  foundations,   with   the 
result  of  an   uneven   settling  of   the   foundation, 
and   the  sunken   and  worn  place*  *o  conspicuous 
M   the  pavements  of  the  East  End." 
asphalt  (MM  j>m  to  break   the 


170     THE  MIAMI;  OF  THE  CITIES 

monopoly,  but  was  easily  beaten  in  18H<),  with- 
drew, and  after  that  one  of  its  officers  said,  "  We 
all  ^r.-m  Pittsburg  a  wide  berth,  recognizing  the 
uselessncss  of  offering  competition  so  long  as  the 
door  of  the  Department  of  Public  Works  is 
locked  against  us,  and  Booth  &  Fiinn  arc  per- 
mitted to  carry  the  key."  Tin  monopoly  caused 
not  only  high  prices  on  short  guarantee,  but  car- 
nVd  with  it  all  the  contingent  work.  Curbing 
and  grading  might  ha\<  I»<«-M  let  separately, 
but  they  were  not.  In  one  contract  Mr.  .M<(  lin 
tock  cites,  Booth  &  Flinn  bid  50  cents  for  41.000 
yards  of  grading.  E.  H.  Bochman  offered  a 
bid  of  15  cents  for  the  grading  as  a  separate 
contract,  and  his  bid  was  rejected.  A  property- 
owner  on  Shady  Lane,  who  was  assessed  for 
curbing  at  80  cents  a  foot,  contracted  privately 
at  the  same  time  for  800  feet  of  the  same  stand- 
ard curbing,  from  the  same  quarry,  and  set  in 
place  in  the  same  manner,  at  40  cents  a  foot! 

"  During  the  nine  years  MH<  coding  the  adop- 
tion of  the  charter  of  1887,"  says  Mr.  Oliver 
McClintock  in  a  report  to  the  National  Municipal 
League,  "one  firm  [Flinn's]  received  practically 
all  the  asphalt-paving  contracts  at  prices  rang- 
ing from  $1  to  $1.80  per  square  yard  higher 
•  than  the  average  price  paid  in  neighboring  citi«  -. 
Out  of  the  entire  amount  of  asphalt  pavements 


IM'i  in      \-l!  \\!1  I) 

' 

contracts,    and    routing    $8,551,181,    only    nin«- 
bU-ks  |,  I-.  VJ6,  and  costing  $88,400, 

I iv  this  linn." 

Tli.    building  "f  bridgri  in  this  ritv  of  bridge*, 
•••  -pairing  of  pa\t  mrnU,  park-making,  and  real 
estate  deal*  in   anticipation   .  Mproxn 

all  causes  of  scandal  to  some  citizens,  source* 
of  profit  to  others  who  w«  -n  tlw  ^r 

floor  •  »•  IB  no  apace  for  thoe  here. 

exposure  came  in  1897  o\«r  tli«    rnntrurts  for  a 
new  Puhlir  Safety   liuiMing.     .1.  ( >    Hrown  WAS 
Piihlir  .   tin- 

Leadfr,  oilKxl  ut tuition  to  a  deal  for  thin  work, 
and  George  \V.  (lutln-i.    ami  \Villiam  R.  Rogers, 
members  of  tin-   Pittsl>urg  bar,  who  fol- 

a  set  of 

thr  building  itself  as  any 

has  on  n  <    :  i      favored  contractors  were  named  or 
tli.-ir  wares  described  all  througb,  and  a  !•  tt. 
tbe  ari  li  .1.  ().  Brown  contained  spec-i: 

tions  for  such  favoritism,  as,  for  cxan  ^j>ec- 

ingboiiM  and  en- 

t."     a  Describe   tin-   \  \\\    Horn    Iron 
'••11s  AS  close  AS  posMbl< ."    The  stone  clause 
WAS  Flinn's,  and   that    is   tin-  onr   that  raised  tlu- 
riunpu<.     Flinn's  quarry  product -d  Ligonirr  I 

block  was  specified.    There  WAS  a  let- 


in     Tin:  SIIAMI:  OF  Tin;  CITIES 

tat  from  Booth  \-  Minn,  Ltd.,  trllin^  the  architect 
that  the  price  was  to  be  specified  at  $31,500.  A 
local  contractor  offered  to  provide  Tennessee  gran- 
ite set  up,  a  more  expensive  material,  on  which  the 
freight  is  higher,  at  $19,880;  but  that  did  not 
matter.  When  another  local  contracting  firm, 
however,  offered  to  furnish  Ligonier  block  set  up 
at  $18,000,  a  change  was  necessary,  and  J.  O. 
Brown  directed  the  architect  to  "specify  that  the 
Ligonier  block  shall  be  of  a  bluish  tint  rather  than 
a  gray  variety."  Flinn's  quarry  had  the  bluish 
tint,  the  other  people's  "  the  .gray  variety."  It 
was  shown* also  that  Flinn  wrote  to  the  architect  on 
June  24y  1895,  saying:  "I  have  seen  Director 
Brown  and  Comptroller  Gourley  to-day,  and  they 
have  agreed  to  let  us  start  on  the  working  plans 
and  get  some  stone  out  for  the  new  building. 
Please  arrange  that  we  may  get  the  tracings  by 
Wednesday.  .  .  ."  The  tracings  were  fur- 
nished him,  and  thus  before  the  advertisements  for 
bids  were  out  he  began  preparing  the  bluish  tint 
stone.  The  charges  were  heard  by  a  packed  com- 
mittee of  councils,  and  nothing  came  of  them ;  and, 
besides,  they  were  directed  against  the  Director  of 
Public  Works,  not  William  Flinn. 

The  boss  was  not  an  official,  and  not  responsible. 
The  only  time  Flinn  was  in  danger  was  on  a  suit 
that  grew  out  of  the  conviction  of  the  City  Attor- 


IT1TSBURG:  A  (  I  IN    AS1IA.M1 

III.   Hoim-,  his  as- 

th«-  embankment  of  public  funds. 

These  officials  were  found  to  be  short  about  $300,- 

000.    One  of  them  pleaded  guilty,  and  both  went 

Iling  where  the  money  * 

:  not  develop  till  Iv         .1 
B.  Connelly,  of  the  Leader,  discovered  in  tl.. 

's  office  stubs  of  checks  indicating  that 
some  $11 8,000  of  it  had  gone  to  Flinn  or  to  Booth 
MM,  Ltd.    When  Flinn  was  first  asked  about 
a  reporter  he  said  that  the  items  were  correct, 
hr  pit  tin-in,  lint  that  he  ha-  ned  it  all 

t.>  th.-  <  nmptrollrr  and  had  satisfied  "him.     This 
answer  i:  .1  h<  li«  f  that  the  money  belonged 

tn  th.  ( -it  \      When  he  was  sued  by  the  city  he  said 
<lid  not  know  it  was  <  •  v.      II«> 

thought  it  was  personal  loans  from  House.     Now 
se  was  not  a  well-to-do  man,  and  hi-  city  sal- 
S2,500  a  year.    Moreover,  tin  <  hecks, 
two  of  which  are  reproduced  h  signed  by  t  Ju- 

an?   for 

iiinoiints  nui^ing  from  five  to  fifteen  thousand  dol- 
lars. Hut  wh«-n-  was  the  in«".  I 'linn  tes* 
that  paid  it  back  to  House.  Then  where 
were  '  pts?  Flinn  said  they  had  been  burned 
in  a  fir.  that  had  occurn-d  in  Booth  &  Flinn's  of- 
fice, i  ulge  found  for  Flinn,  holding  that  it 
had  not  been  proven  that  Flinn  knew  the  checks 


174     THE  MIAMI:  OF  THE  CITIES 

were  for  public  money,  nor  that  he  had  not  repaid 
the  amount. 

As  I  have  said  before,   however,   unlawful    acts 
exceptional    and    unnecessary    in    Pittshur^. 
Vlagee  did  not  steal  franchises  and  sell  them.     His 
councils  gave  the  in  to  him.    He  and  the  busy  Flinn 
,ook  them,  built  railways,  which    M  -old  and 

)ought  and  financed  and  conducted,  like  any  other 
nan  whose  successful  career  is  held  up  as  an  ex- 
imple  for  young  men.  His  railways,  combined 
nto  the  Consolidated  Traction  Company,  were 
capitalized  at  $30,000,000.  The  public  debt  of 
Pittsburg  is  about  $18,000,000,  and  the  profit  on 
the  railway  building  of  Chris  Magee  would  have 
wiped  out  the  debt.  "  But  you  must  remember," 
they  say  in  the  Pittsburg  banks,  "  that  Magee 
took  risks,  and  his  profits  are  the  just  reward  of 
enterprise."  This  is  business.  But  politically 
speaking  it  was  an  abuse  of  the  powers  of  a  popu- 
lar ruler  for  Boss  Magee  to  give  to  Promoter  Ma- 
•gee  all  the  streets  he  wanted  in  Pittsburg  at  his  own 
terms:  forever,  and  nothing  to  pay.  There  was 
scandal  in  Chicago  over  the  granting  of  charters 
for  twenty-eight  and  fifty  years.  Magre's  read: 
"  for  950  years,"  "  for  999  years,"  "  said  Charter 
is  to  exist  a  thousand  years,"  "  said  Charter  if  to 
exist  perpetually,"  and  the  councils  gave  fran- 
chises for  the  "  life  of  the  Charter."  There  ii  a 


AUEGHCNY  HATIQNAI  BA*| 


Or    CHICKS    tllOWIXO  Til  AT    rUBUC    MOXCY,  KM- 

•mm  KT   rumuc   omciAU,   WKVT  to  BOM   ruxw,     WHO 

VKO  THAT   UK  DID   KOT   KXOW      IB 

cmr  MOXKT. 


176      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

legend  that  IY«<I  Ma-n-r.  a  ^a^«ri>li  hrollur  .>!' 
Chris,  j)iit  the>e  phniM-s  into  these  grants  for  fun, 
and  no  doubt  the  genial  Chris  saw  tin-  I'nn  of  it.  I 
asked  if  thr  same  joker  put  in  the  car  tax,  \\hicli  is 
tin-  only  compensation  the  city  gets  for  the  use 
forever  of  its  streets;  but  it  was  explained  that 
that  was  an  oversight.  The  car  tax  was  put  upon 
the  old  horse-cars,  and  came  down  upon  the  trolley 
because,  having  been  left  unpaid,  it  was  forgotten. 
This  car  tax  on  $30,000,000  of  property  amounts 
to  less  than  $15,000  a  year,  and  the  compjini<  s 
have  until  lately  been  slow  about  paying  it.  Din- 
ing the  twelve  years  succeeding  1885  all  the  trac- 
tion companies  together  paid  the  city  $60,000. 
While  the  horse  vehicles  in  1897  paid  $47,000,  and 
bicycles  $7,000,  the  Consolidated  Traction  Com- 
pany* (C.  L.  Magee,  President)  paid  $9,600. 
The  speed  of  bicycles  and  horse  vehicles  is  limited 
by  law,  that  of  the  trolley  is  unregulated.  Tin- 
only  requirement  of  the  law  upon  them  is  that  tin- 
traction  company  shall  keep  in  repair  the  pave- 

*  All  the  street  railways  terminating  in  the  city  of  Pitts- 
burg  were  in  1901  consolidated  into  the  1'ittslmrg  Hallways 
Company,  operating  404  miles  of  track,  under  an  approxi- 
mate capitalization  of  $84,000,000.  In  tlx-ir  statement,  ISM  in  I 
July  1,  1905,  they  report  gross  earnings  for  1901  as  $7,081,- 
452.82.  Out  of  this  they  paid  a  car  tax  for  1902  to  the  city 
of  Pittsburg  of  $20,099.94.  At  the  ordinary  rate  of  5  per 
cent  on  gross  earnings  the  tax  would  have  been  $354,072.60. 


I'l  I   r>lll    K(,       \    »   I  I  N     AHI  \\II.I) 
in* nt   li.  tween  and  *  fo<»  icks. 

Tliii  they  don't  do,  and  they  make  the  city  fu: 

ty  policeman  as  guard*  for  crossings  of  their 
>  at  a  cost  of  $20,000  a  year  in  wages. 
Not  ,t   u.th  thr  eU,  the 

rin^c  mack*  the  city  work   for  the  railways.     The 
building  of  bridge!  is  one  function  <>f  tin-  mi;- 
y    an   a   servant   of   the   tnirtion    company. 
Inir^  U  a  city  of  many  hi-id^t*,  and  many  of 
tin-in  were  built   for  iffic.     Wlini   t!.. 

Ma^rr  railw;i\s  unit  u\»r  tin-in  MMIM-  of  tlmn  li.ul 
nit.     Tin-  company  aakr.l  t  to  do 

nd  despitr  tin    protests  of  riti/ms  and  news- 
papers, 1 1  •  liuilt  iron  hrid^es  in  good  <x)n»li 
and  of  recent  construction   to  accommodate 
tlir  tracks.     Once  sonn-  citi/ms  uppli.d  for  .1  f 

to  iiuilil  a  connecting  line  along  what  is  now 
part  of  the  Bloomficld  route,  and  by  way  of  . 
pensation   offered    to   liuild    a   bridge   across    tlu- 
tsylvania  tr.i  !tcy  only 

t\«  the  right  to  run  tluir  cars  on  it.  '1 
did  not  gt-t  thrir  franchise.  Not  long  after  ChrU 
Magee  (and  Flinn)  ^ot  it,  and  they  got  it  for 
nothing:  and  the  city  huilt  this  bridge,  rebuilt 
:ier  bridges  over  the  \\ •nnsylvania  tracks, 
anil  -  :  the  .Junction  Railroad — five  bridges 

in  all,  at  a  cost  of  $160,000! 

Canny  Scots  as  they  were,  the  Pittsburgers  sub- 


17S       I  !IH  SHAME  OF  THE  CITI1-S 

mitted  to  all  this  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and 
some  $84,000  has  l>.  .  n  suhsrrihed  toward  the  mon- 
ument to  Chris  Magee.  This  sounds  like  any  other 
u ell  broken  American  city;  but  to  the  credit  of 
Pittsburg  be  it  said  that  there  never  was  a  time 
when  .some  feu  individuals  were  not  fighting  tin- 
ring.  David  D.  Bruce  was  standing  for  good  gov- 
ernment way  back  in  the  'fifties.  Oliver  McClintock 
and  George  W.  Guthrie  we  have  had  <;limpsrs  of, 
struggling,  like  John  Ilampden,  against  their  ty- 
rants; but  always  for  mere  justice  and  in  t he- 
courts,  and  all  in  vain,  till  in  1895  their  exposures 
began  to  bring  forth  signs  of  public  feeling,  and 
they  ventured  to  appeal  to  the  voters,  the  sources 
of  the  bosses'  power.  They  enlisted  the  venerable 
Mr.  Bruce  and  a  few  other  brave  men,  and  together 
called  a  mass-meeting.  A  crowd  gathered.  There 
were  not  many  prominent  men  there,  but  evidently 
the  people  were  with  them,  and  they  then  and  there 
formed  the  Municipal  League,  and  launched  it 
upon  a  campaign  to  beat  the  ring  at  the  February 
election,  1896. 

A  committee  of  five  was  put  in  charge — Bruce, 
McClintock,  George  K.  Stevenson,  Dr.  Pollock, 
and  Otto  Heeren — who  combined  with  Mr.  (Jut li- 
ne's sterling  remnant  of  the  Democratic  party  on 
an  independent  ticket,  with  Mr.  Guthrie  at  the 
head  for  mayor.  It  was  a  daring  thing  to  do,  and 


rriTSBURG:  A  <  i  n     iSB  \MI  n 

nliat    w,     have  di*r« 

I  ...ins    ami    Miniii  apolis.       M        I;  told   mo 

i    maM-nirvtiiiK,   in.  it   *ho  should 
me    out    open  I  \     for    the    movement    ap- 
proached him  by  it«  1   whi^nd   that    h«- 
could  count  on  them  for  money  if  he  would  keep 
secret  th.  ir  mime*.    **  Outside  of  thone  .it  tin  meet- 
i"^,"  he  taicl,  "  l»ut  one  man  of  all  thone  that  *ub- 
(1  umilii  lit  Itis  name  appear.     And  men  who 
gavi                tuiatinn  to  tine  against  th,   ring  spoke 
tlirmnelve*   f«                 n^  on    tin-    pl.t'  Iff. 
:  lit  in -k  in  a  paper  read  before  a  committee  of 
the  National  Municipal  I.«a^ue  says:    M  By  far 
n^j   «li><-n\rry,   however,   was 
i  pat  hit  it-  imliflYn-iuv  of  nianv   repre- 
•entativr    riti/ms     nun    who    from    every    « 

A  are  deservedly  looked  upon  as  model 
members  of  society.     We  found  that  promim-nt 
merchants  and  contractor^   who   wen-  *  on   the   in 
manufacturers    i-njovin«r    I]  unicipal 

^,  wealthy  capitalists,  hrokors,  and  nthrrn 
vvi-ri-  holders  of  tin-  tion  and 

rporations,  had  tluir  mouths  stopped, 
their  comictions  of  duty  strangled,  and  their  in- 
fluence before  and  votes  on  election  day  pre- 
empted against  us.  In  still  another  direction  we 
I  that  the  fin ancial  and  political  support  of 
the  great  steam  railroads  and  largest  nmmifactur- 


I  UK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

ing  corporations,  rout  rolling  as  far  as  they  were 
able  the  suffrages  of  their  thousand^  of  employ- 
ees, were  thrown  against  us,  for  the  simple  reason, 
as  was  frankly  explained  by  one  of  them,  that  it 
was  much  easier  to  deal  with  a  boss  in  promoting 
their  corporate  interests  than  to  deal  directly  with 
the  people's  representatives  in  the  municipal  legis- 
lature. We  rven  found  the  directors  of  many 
banks  in  an  attitude  of  cold  neutrality,  if  not  of 
active  hostility,  toward  any  movement  for  munic- 
ipal reform.  As  one  of  them  put  it, '  if  you  want 
to  be  anybody,  or  make  money  in  Pittsburg,  it  is 
necessary  to  be  in  the  political  swim  and  on  the 
side  of  the  city  ring.' ' 

This  is  corruption,  but  it  is  called  "  good  busi- 
ness," and  it  is  worse  than  politics. 

It  was  a  quarrel  among  the  grafters  of  Minne- 
apolis that  gave  the  grand  jury  a  chance  there. 
It  was  a  low  row  among  the  grafters  of  St.  Louis 
that  gave  Joseph  W.  Folk  his  opening.  And  so  in 
Pittsburg  it  was  in  a  fight  between  Quay  and  Ma- 
gee  that  the  Municipal  League  saw  its  opportu- 
nity. 

To  Quay  it  was  the  other  way  around.  The 
rising  of  the  people  of  Pittsburg  was  an  oppor- 
tunity for  him.  He  and  Magee  had  never  got 
along  well  together,  and  they  were  falling  out  and 
having  their  differences  adjusted  by  I'M  inn  and 


ITITSI  \    (   in      \H!  \MI.1)     Ihl 

oth.  i  yean.    Tin-  "  mutual  biuiness  ad- 

ige"  agreement  was  to  have  doted  one  of  UMM 
rows.    The  fight  of  1895-06  was  aa  espec 

.1  not  I-IOM-  with  tin  ••  harmony" 
that  wai  j.  i'.!:.d  up.     M  I  Fhnn  and  BOM 

Martin  «>f  Plul.id.  Iphia  s.  t  nut  to  kill  (Jimv  pohti 

.-II  tlmi  into  OIK-  of  those  **  fi 
.sl,i,li  ir.ik.  1 1  is  career  so  interesting, 

hearing  tli.    ^nunhlin;;  in   IMiiltidrlpliia  and  ft<  . 

t   of  tli,    ritixens  of   1'itt-lmr^,  stepped 
hoMlv   forth  upon  a  platform    for   n-fonn,  espe- 
cially to  stop  tlu-  4*  UM-  of  money  for  the  corrup- 
l-'mm  Quay  this  was  comical, 

but    the   Pitt -burgers  were  too  serious  to  Inu^li. 
They  were  fighting  for  t!  .  too,  so  to  speak, 

and  tli.  si^lit  of  a  boss  on  tli.-ir  side  must  have  en- 
i^i-d  t!i..st-  l.tiMnr-s  men  who  u  found  it  easier 
to  deal  with  a  boss  th.m  uith  the  people's  repre- 
sentatives."   However  that  may  be,  a  majority  of 
•  allots  cast   in  tin-  municipal  elect  Pitts- 

liiir^  in  Fchn:  u\.  1896,  were  against  tin-  ring. 

This  isn't  history.    According  to  tin-  n-ronl-  tin- 
reform  titk.t  was  defeated  by  about  1000  votes. 
n  turns  up   to  one  o'clock   on   the  morning 
t  ion  showed  George  \V.  (luthrir  far  ahead 
nayor;  then  all  returns  ceased  suddenly,  and 
when  the  count  came  in  officially,  a  few  days  1 
ring  had  won.    But  besides  the  prima  foci 


182      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

<!<  nee  of  fraud,  tin-  mister-,  aftrnvanl  told  in 
confidence  not  only  that  Mr.  Guthric  was  counted 
out,  but  how  it  was  done.  Mr.  Guthrie's  appeal  to 
the  courts,  however,  for  a  recount  was  denied. 
The  courts  held  that  the  secret  ballot  law  forbad. 
the  opening  of  the  ballot  boxes. 

Thus  the  ring  held  Pittsburg — but  not  the 
Pittsburgers.  They  saw  Quay  in  control  of  the 
Legislature,  Quay  the  reformer,  who  would  help 
them.  So  they  drew  a  charter  for  Pittsburg  which 
would  restore  the  city  to  the  people.  Quay  saw  the 
instrument,  and  he  approved  it;  he  promised  to 
have  it  passed.  The  League,  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, and  other  representative  bodies,  all  encour- 
aged by  the  outlook  for  victory,  sent  to  Harris- 
burg  committees  to  urge  their  charter,  and  their 
orators  poured  forth  upon  the  Magee-Flinn  ring  a 
flood  of,  not  invective,  but  facts,  specifications  of 
outrage,  and  the  abuse  of  absolute  power.  Their 
charter  went  booming  along  through  its  first  and 
second  readings,  Quay  and  the  Magee-Flinn  crowd 
fighting  inch  by  inch.  All  looked  well,  when  sud- 
denly there  was  silence.  Quay  was  dealing  with 
his  enemies,  and  the  charter  was  his  club.  He 
wanted  to  go  back  to  the  Senate,  and  he  went. 
The  Pittsburgers  saw  him  elected,  saw  him  go,  but 
their  charter  they  saw  no  more.  And  such  is  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  that  this  man  who  did  this 


ITI  i  -  v  cm    vsn  \\II.D    i- . 

"   PiM-ln.  lm»  don.    tin-  like  Again 

ami  all  interests— rv. u  poli- 
i  t  he  boas  of  Pennsylvania  to-day ! 
I    :«•  good  men  of  Pittslmrg  gu\e  up,  uiul  for 
vrjirs  the  csscnt  \   of  !!»••  government 

of  tlu-  city  is  a  men?  thread  ii:  «»iml  histnrv 

of  tin-  i|u»irr«  N  of  thr  botMt  ID  State  politic. 

gee  wanted  to  go  t<>  tli,  Tnitcd  Staten  Senate, 
he  had  with   him  Boat  Martin   and   .John   Wana- 
maker  of  Philailrlphia,  as  well  a*  his  own  Flinn. 
turiixi  mi  •  )>osses,  ami.  undermining 

tlu-ir  pnw.-r.  soon  liucl  Marti:  in   IMiiladel- 

Po  <>\.  rtiirow  Magcc  was  a  harder  task,  and 
Quay  might    m-vrr  have  accomplished  it  had  not 
Magcc'f*   health    t'i    •-!.    «  i -i-ing   him   to  be   much 
away.     Pitt.slmrg  was  I.  ft  t«>  Flinn,  and  his  mas- 
ilness,  umniti^  it.  ,i  hy  Magec,  made  trouble. 
The  crisis  came  out  of  a  row  Flinn  had  with  his  Di- 
rector of  Tuhlit  Works,  K.  M.  Higelow,  a  man  as 
il  as  Flinn  himself.      Higelow  threw  open 
•  •inpetition  rert.-iin  contracts.     Flinn,  in  exav 

(  had  the  councils  throw  out  th« 
and  put   in  his  place  a  man  who  restored  the  old 
specifications. 

This  enraged  Thomas  Steele  Bigelow,  E.   M. 
Bigelow's    brother,    and    another    nephew    of    old 
Pom  had  an  old  grudge  ag 

the  early   days  of   traction 


184     Tin:  SIIA.MI:  or  Tin:  CITIES 
deals.    Hi*  was  rich.  he  knew  something  of  politic^ 

and  lie  believed  in  the  power  of  money  in  the  ^ame. 
Going  straight  to  Harrisburg,  he  took  charge  of 
Quay's  fight  for  Senator,  spent  his  own  money  and 
won;  and  he  beat  Magec,  wlmli  was  his  first  pur- 
pose. 

But  he  was  not  satisfied  yet.  Tin-  ritfsbur 
aroused  to  fresh  hope  by  the  new  fight  of  tin- 
bosses,  were  encouraged  also  by  the  news  that 
the  census  of  1900  put  a  second  city,  Scran  ton, 
into  "cities  of  the  second  class."  New  laws 
had  to  be  drawn  for  both.  Pittsbnr^  saw  a  chance 
for  a  good  chartt-r.  Tom  Bigelow  saw  a  chance 
to  finish  the  Magee-Flinn  ring,  and  he  had 
William  B.  Rogers,  a  man  whom  the  city  trusted. 
draw  the  famous  "Ripper  Bill"!  This  was 
originally  a  good  charter,  concentrating  po\\er 
in  the  mayor,  but  changes  were  introduced 
into  it  to  enable  the  Governor  to  remove 
and  appoint  mayors,  or  recorders,  as  they  u<r< 
to  be  called,  at  will  until  April,  1903,  when  the  first 
elected  recorder  was  to  take  office.  This  was 
Bigelow's  device  to  rid  Pittsburg  of  the  ring  office 
holders.  But  Magee  was  not  dead  yet.  He  and 
Flinn  saw  Governor  Stone,  and  when  the  Governor 
ripped  out  the  ring  mayor,  he  appointed  a- 
corder  Major  A.  M.  Brown,  a  lawyer  well  thought 
of  in  Pittsburg. 


IHTSBURG:  A  (  in    ASHAMED    185 

Major  Brown,  howe\.  r,  k.-pt  all  hut  one  of  the 
h«  ads  of  the  department*.    Thi*  disappointed 
people;  it  wiui  a  defeat   for  Bigflow;  for  the 
it  »'i*  a  triuinpli.    Without  Magee,  howe?cr9 

Flinn  could  nnt   hold  his  frlln**  in  their  joy,  and 

t    to  CXPMMI   *  operated   Major 

Brown  and  gave  Btgelow  an  excuse  for  ur 

him    to   action.       M  Brown   sti.l.l.  nlv   r€O>OVtd 

tin-  heads  of  the  rin^  and  IM-^HH  a  thorough  reor- 

/.'ition  of  the  govrrmnrnt.     This  reversed  eroo- 

,  hut  not  for  long.     Tin-   rin^  leaders  saw 

tic  agaii  .  ripjK»d  out  Bigelow's 

Brown  and  appoint,  d  in  his  place  a  rin^  Brown. 

Thus  the  ring  was  restored  to  full  control  under  a 

'i  iticreased  their  power. 
•  the  outrageous  abuse  of  the  Governor's  un- 
usual power  over  the  eitv   iiuvnx.-d  thr  people  of 
!mr#.      A   postscript   which   Governor   Stonr 
added    to    his    announcement    of    the    appoint 
ment    of    the    new    record* T    did    not    help  mat- 
it    was    a    denial    that    lie    had    heen  hi 
The  Pittsburgers  had  not  heard  of  any  !>ri! 
hut     the    postscript    gave    cum  my    to    a    defi- 
;«port  that  tin-  ring — its  banks,  its  corpora* 
d  its  bosses — had  raised  an  enormous  fund 
to  pay   the  (.  for   his   i,  •  ,.  Jn  the 

and  this   pointed  th«-  intnixr   f.rliu^s  of  the 
•>.     They  prepared  to  beat  tin    ring  at  an 


I     THI;  SHA.MI:  or  Tin:  CITIES 

t-lirt  ion  to  be  held  in  February,  1902,  for  Comp- 
troller and  half  of  the  councils.  A  Citi/ens'  party 
was  organized.  The  campaign  was  an  excited 
one;  both  sides  did  their  best,  and  the  vote  polled 
was  the  largest  ever  k noun  in  I'ittshurg.  Ev.-n  tin- 
ring  made  a  record.  Tin  citizens  won,  houever, 
,  rf '  and  by  a  majority  of  8,000. 

This  shouid  the  people  what  they  could  do  when 
they  tried,  and  they  were  so  elated  that  they  went 
into  the  next  election  and  carried  the  county — the 
stronghold  of  the  ring.  But  they  now  had  a  party 
to  look  out  for,  and  they  did  not  look  out  for  it. 
They  neglected  it  just  as  they  had  the  city.  Tom 
Bigelow  knew  the  value  of  a  majority  party:  In- 
had  appreciated  the  Citizens'  from  the  start.  In- 
deed he  may  have  started  it.  All  tin-  reformers 
know  is  that  the  committee  which  called  the  Citi- 
zens' Party  into  existence  was  made  up  of  twenty- 
five  men — five  old  Municipal  Leaguers,  the  rest  a 
"miscellaneous  lot."  They  did  not  bother  then 
about  that.  They  knew  Tom  Bigelow,  but  he  did 
not  show  himself,  and  the  new  party  went  on  con- 
fidently with  its  passionate  work. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  great  election,  that 
for  recorder  this  year  (1903),  the  citizens  woke 
up  one  day  and  found  Tom  Bigelow  the  boss  of 
their  party.  How  he  came  there  they  did  not  ex- 
actly know;  but  there  he  was  in  full  possession, 


n  i  \  «  in    AHI  \\II.D    187 

and  there  with  him  was  tin-  "miscellaneous  lot  " 
on  th,   ,  .     Moreover,  Higelow  was  appl\ 

ing  with  vigor  regular  machine  method*.  It  was  all 

istunixhM.-r,  hut  x,  r\  si,  Magee  was 

dead;  Flinn's  <  ml  wa*  in  M^ht  ;  hut  there  wa*  the 

Boss,  the  everlasting  Ann  ru-an  DOM,  as  large  a* 

The  good  citizen*  were  shocked;  th«ir  <h 

lemma   was   ridiculous   hut    it    was   serious   too. 

!.  >s,  thrv  wahh.d.  Higvlow  nominated  for 
recorder  u  n  would  have  (hoten. 

I        i  put  tip  a  h«-tt«-r  man,  hopin; 
iienff,  and  whrii  these  said  they  could  see  Flinn  be- 
hind his  candidate,  he  said,  "No;  I  am  out  of 

Win  ii     M  i    I    died    politi. 

too/'     Nobody   would   t  m.     The  decent 

Democrats  hoped  to  'luir  purtv  and  offer 

a  way  out,  hut  Hi^.  I.»u  unit  into  tin  ir  c< 
with  his  inniu-v  and  tlh-  u  old  orgiini/ 

sold  out.    Tin-  Miii-ll  of  money  on  tl»«-  Citizens'  side 
i  to  it  thr  ^rafti-r>,  tin-  rats  from  Flinn's 
sinking  >hip;  niaiiv  of  tin-  corporations  went  « 
and  pretty  soon  it  was  understood  that  the  rail- 
roads had  come  to  a  settlement  ainon^  thniiM-Ivr* 

•  •itli  thr  new  boss,  on  the  basis  of  an  agree- 
ment said  to  contain  fire  specifications  of  grants 
from  thr  cit  v.  Tin-  t-  >n  to  votr  for  Minn's 

was  strong,  hut  tin-  old  reformers  seem* 
feel  that  the  only  thing  to  do  was  to  finish  Flinn 


iss  11  IK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
now  and  take  care  of  Tom  Bigclow  lain.  This 
view  prevailed  and  Tom  Bigclow  won.  This  is  the 
\\i\\  tin-  lu-st  men  in  Pittsburg  put  it  :  M  \\Y  have 
smashed  a  ring  and  we  have  wound  another  around 
us.  Now  we  have  got  to  smash  that ." 

There  is  the  spirit  of  this  city  as  I  understand 
it.  ("raven  as  it  was  for  years,  corrupted  high 
and  low,  Pittsburg  did  rise ;  it  shook  off  the  super- 
stition of  partisanship  in  municipal  politics; 
beaten,  it  rose  again;  and  now,  when  it  might  have 
boasted  of  a  triumph,  it  saw  straight:  a  defeat. 
The  old  fighters,  undeceived  and  undeceiving,  hu- 
miliated but  undaunted,  said  simply :  "  All  we  have 
got  to  do  is  to  begin  all  over  again."  Meanwhile, 
however,  Pittsburg  has  developed  some  young  men, 
and  with  an  inheritance  of  this  same  spirit,  they 
are  going  to  try  out  in  their  own  way.  The  older 
men  undertook  to  save  the  city  with  a  majority 
party  and  they  lost  the  party.  The  younger  men 
have  formed  a  Voters'  Civic  League,  which  pro- 
poses to  swing  from  one  party  to  another  that 
minority  of  disinterested  citizens  which  is  always 
willing  to  be  led,  and  thus  raise  the  standard  of 
candidates  and  improve  the  character  of  regular 
party  government.  Tom  Bigelow  intended  to  cap 
hire  the  old  Flinn  organization,  combine  it  with 
his  Citizens'  party,  and  rule  as  Magee  did  with 
one  party,  a  union  of  all  parties.  If  he  should 


Ml  I  9B1  RG      \   I'm    ASH  \Ml.D    189 

do  thi",  tli«  n  former*  would  have  no  two 

parties  to  choose  between;  Imt  th.-n-  htnnd  the  old 

fi^l'tiTi*  ready  to  rebuild  a  Citizen**  party  under 

or   any   other   name.      Whate\  >e   i* 

•i,  luiHTvrr,  Homctliin^  will  be  done  i       I 

l.ur^,  or  I  l.-ust.  for  good  government,  and 

t  hr  cowardice  and  r*  n  Bhamelemsly  dU- 

ii   other  citiea,  the  effort  <•:  ur^, 

ul  an  it  is,  i«  a  spectacle  good  for  American 

and  it*  sturdiness  b  A  promi*< 
poor  old  Pennsylvania. 


,1. ADI. I. I'll!  \      <  <»Kl;' 
(  nVM.Vl  1  1) 


PHILADELPHIA:  muiiUPT  AND 
COM  l.N  III) 
luly.  1903) 

OIHKE  American  cities,  no  matter  how  bad  th<ir 
condition    may   be,  all   point   with   scorn    to 

a«  worse — **  the  worst-governed 
in  flu-  roimtr\  "    SI     1  .mils,  Minneapolis,  PitUburg 
Mihmit  with  some  patience  to  the  jibe»  of  any  < 
cnmmunitN  ;    the   most    friendly   suggestion    from 
•••tlwitli.  !        IMiil- 

adi-lphiaiiH    are    4tsu|  "asleep";    hopeleMly 

rulnl.  they  are  "  oomph  "  Politically 

:,"   Philadelphia  is  supposed  to  have  no 
li-ht  to  throw  upon  a  state  of  things  that  is  almost 

Thin  is  not  fair.     Philadelphia  is,  indeed,  cor- 
rupt ;  hut    it  is  not  without  significance.     Every 

and  town  in  tin-  country  ran  learn  something 

thr  t  \  pic  il  political  experience  of  this  great 
!•  city.  New  York  is  excused  for  many 
-  ills  because  it  is  the  metropolis,  Chicago  be- 
cause of  its  forced  develoj >  '  .-l.nl.  1  phi. i  is  our 
*4  third  largest  "  city  and  its  growth  has  been  grad- 
ual and  natural.       Immigration  lias  been  blamed 

193 


194       1  ill     SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

for  our  municipal  conditions;  Philadelphia,  with 
47  per  cent,  of  its  population  native  horn  of  na- 
ti\r  horn  pan-nts,  i.s  the  most  Ann  rican  of  our 
greater  cities.  It  is  "good,"  too,  and  intelligent. 
I  don't  know  just  how  to  measure  the  intelligence 
of  a  community, but  a  Pennsylvania  college  profes- 
sor who  declared  to  me  his  belief  in  education  for 
the  masses  as  a  way  out  of  political  corruption, 
himself  justified  the  "  rake-off"  of  preferred  con- 
tractors on  public  works  on  the  ground  of  a  "  fair 
husiness  profit."  Another  plea  we  have  made  is 
that  we  are  too  busy  to  attend  to  public  busine^, 
and  we  have  promised,  when  we  come  to  wealth  and 
leisure,  to  do  better.  Philadelphia  has  long  en- 
joyed great  and  widely  distributed  prosperity;  it 
is  the  city  of  homes ;  there  is  a  dwelling  house  for 
every  five  persons, — men,  women,  and  children, — 
of  the  population ;  and  the  people  give  one  a  sense 
of  more  leisure  and  repose  than  any  community  I 
ever  dwelt  in.  Some  Philadelphians  account  for 
their  political  state  on  the  ground  of  their  ease  and 
comfort.  There  is  another  class  of  optimists  whose 
hope  is  in  an  "  aristocracy  "  that  is  to  come  by 
and  by ;  Philadelphia  is  surer  that  it  has  a  "  real 
aristocracy  "  than  any  other  place  in  the  world, 
but  its  aristocrats,  with  few  exceptions,  are  in  the 
ring,  with  it,  or  of  no  political  use.  Then  we  hear 
that  we  are  a  young  people  and  that  when  we  are 


Till!    \D1.1. 1'illA     (  .  I  1.0       195 

i  and  "  have-  like  lome  of  the  old 

countries,  we  also  will  be  honest.  Philadelphia  is 
one  of  the  oldest  of  our  cities  and  treasure*  for  us 
scenes  and  relict  of  tome  of  the  nobl- 

fair  Und      N  •  '  I  was  told  how  once,  « 
a  party  of  boodlers  counted  out   the 
of  th.  ir  ^r.ift  in  unUon  with  the  ancient 

chimr  of  Independence  Hall. 

IMiilmli  Ipln.i     IN     npreaentii1  i*    Tery 

told,  as  it  was,  with  a  laugh,  is  typical. 
All  our  municipal  governments  are  more  or  less 
bad,  and  all  our  people  are  optimists.    Philadelphia 
is  simply  the  most  corrupt  and  the  most  contented, 
capolis  has  cleaned  up,  PitUburg  has  tried  to, 
N    ik    fights   every   other  election,   Chicago 
fights  all  the  time.     K\m  St.  Louis  has  begun  to 
.st ir  ( since  the  elections  are  over),  and  at  the  worst 
was  only  shameless.     Philadelphia  is  proud;  good 
people  there  defend  corruption  and  boast  of  tlu-ir 
me.     My  college  professor,  with  his  philo- 
sophic view  of  "  rake-offs,"  is  one  Philadelphia 
A  man,  who,  driven  to  bay  with 

x-al  pride,  says:  "At  least  you  must  admit 

:  m.u-liinc  is  the  best  you  have  ever  set 

l»  fall     otlxr  cities  say  so.     But  I  say 

i'.'iil.ul.  Ij.hia  is  a  disgrace,  it  is  a  disgrace 

not  to  itself  alone,  nor  to  Pennsylvania,  but  to  the 

i  and  to  American  character.     For 


196      HIE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

thix  o;n;it  city,  so  highly  rcpr.-.  nlat  ive  in  other 
1-1  -prcts,  j>  not  behind  in  political  experience,  hut 
ahead,  with  New  York.  I'hiladt  Iphia  is  a  city  that 
has  had  its  reforms.  Having  passed  through  all 
the  typical  stages  of  corruption,  Philadelphia 
reached  the  period  of  miscellaneous  loot  with  a  l»«»s 
for  chief  thief,  under  James  McManes  and  the  Gas 
Ring  'way  hack  in  the  late  sixties  and  seventies. 
This  is  the  Tweed  stage  of  corruption  from  which 
St.  Louis,  for  example,  JN  jn^t  c  mrr<rin;r.  Phila- 
delphia, in  two  inspiring  popular  revolt ^,  attacked 
the  Gas  Ring,  broke  it,  and  in  1885  achieved  that 
dream  of  American  cities — a  good  charter.  The 
present  condition  of  Philadelphia,  therefore,  is  not 
that  which  precedes,  but  that  which  follows  reform, 
and  in  this  distinction  lies  its  startling  general  sig- 
nificance. What  has  happened  since  the  Bullitt 
Law  or  charter  went  into  effect  in  Philadelphia  may 
happen  in  any  American  city  "  after  reform  is 
over." 

For  reform  with  us  is  usually  revolt,  not  govern- 
ment, and  is  soon  over.  Our  people  do  not  seek, 
they  avoid  self-rule,  and  "  reforms  "  are  spasmodic 
efforts  to  punish  bad  rulers  and  get  somebody  that 
will  give  us  good  government  or  something  that 
will  make  it.  A  self-acting  form  of  government  is 
an  ancient  superstition.  We  are  an  inventive 
people,  and  we  all  think  that  we  shall  devise  some 


Mill.  \DI.1. Pill  \     <  OVI  I   VI  I.I)       197 
day  a  legal  nmrli  v  ill  turn  out  good  govern- 

ment    automata  nil  \.        "1  I1 

treasured  tin-.  U-lief  longer  than  tin  rr*t  of  ti*  and 
havi  moiv  iiftui.  Throughout  ' 

v  have  sought  this  wonderful  charter  and 

|  I, .i.l  it  uli.-n  they  gut  tin-  Bullitt 

Law,  whi.-h  c  .mo  nt  rat, .  in  tin  m.i\..r  ample  power, 

|    little  thoil- 

on  the  part  of  tin-  people.  All  th.-y  expectnl  t.. 
have  to  do  u  Hullitt  Law  unit  into  effect 

waa  to  elect  a»  mayor  a  good  busmen  man,  who, 

nith  his  prnl.it y  and  common  sense,  would  give 
them  that  good  tniftineiui  administration  which  is  the 
ideal  of  many  reformers. 

I  be  Hullitt  Law  went    int..  n   1887-       \ 

committee  of   t\\.-l\. — four  men   from   the  1 
Leag  from  business  organizations,  and  four 

tin-  II..SMX      pi.-k.-il  uut    tin-  first   man  to  nin 
iinili-r  it  on  th«-  H.  pu!  1  I  I     I'itli-r. 

an  ahlc,  upri^lit  IMIMM.  —  man,  and  he  was  elected. 

ige  to  say,  his  administration  was  satisfa* ' 
to  tli  >,  who  speak  well  of  it  to  this  day,  and 

to  the  politicians  also;  Boss   McMancs   (  • 
was  brokfu.  n<>t  the  IHJSS)  took  to  the  !  ional 

convention  from  Philadelphia  a  delegation  solid  for 
i  nt  of  tl;  i  -  ito,  It  was 

a  farce,  hut  it  plonsed  Mr.  1'itkr,  so  Matthew  S. 


IDS  Till';  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
Quay,  the  State  bo»>,  let  him  have  a  complimentary 
vote  on  the  first  ballot.  Tin-  politicians  "  fooled  * 
.Mr.  Filler,  and  they  "  fooled"  also  tin-  next  busi- 
ness mayor,  Edwin  S.  Stuart,  likewise  a  most  esti- 
mable gentleman.  Under  these  two  a<lmmi>t  rat  ions 
the  foundation  was  laid  for  the  present  government 
of  Philadelphia,  the  corruption  to  which  Philadel- 
phians  seem  so  reconciled,  and  the  machine  which  is 
"at  least  the  best  you  have  ever  Men*91 

The  Philadelphia  machine  isn't  the  best.  It 
isn't  sound,  and  I  doubt  if  it  would  stand  in  New 
York  or  Chicago.  The  enduring  strength  of  the 
typical  American  political  machine  is  that  it  is  a 
natural  growth — a  sucker,  but  deep-rooted  in  the 
people.  The  New  Yorkers  vote  for  Tammany 
Hall.  The  Philadelphians  do  not  vote;  they  are 
disfranchised,  and  their  disfranchisement  is  one 
anchor  of  the  foundation  of  the  Philadelphia  or- 
ganization. 

This  is  no  figure  of  speech.  The  honest  citizens 
of  Philadelphia  have  no  more  rights  at  the  polls 
than  the  negroes  down  South.  Nor  do  they  fight 
very  hard  for  this  basic  privilege.  You  can  arou-e 
their  Republican  ire  by  talking  about  the  black 
Republican  votes  lost  in  the  Southern  States  by 
white  Democratic  intimidation,  but  if  you  remind 
the  average  Philadelphian  that  he  is  in  the  same 
position,  he  will  look  startled,  then  say,  "  That's 


Hill.  MM  I. I'll!  \     (  ()V1  I   VI  I.I)       199 
.so,  that's  lit,  rall\  true,  only  I  never  thought 

ist  that  WHY/'     Ami  it  j>  lit,  rally  tme. 
Tin-  nmchinr  controls  the  whole  prom*  of  vot- 
and  practices  fraud  at  every  stage.     The  as- 
Mttor's  lut  i«  the  voting  list,  and  the  •ssrii 
tin-  i  M.  ui.     **  The  assessor  of  a  division 

a  disorderly  home;  he  padded  his  lint*  with 
fraudulent   names  registered  from  hi*  house;  two 
icte  names  were  used  bj  election  officers, 
constable  of  the  division  kept  a  disreputable 
house;  a  policeman  was  assessed  as  living  there. 
Tin  el.-ction  was  held  in  the  disorderly  house 
tained  l>\  the  assessor.  .  .  .  The  man  named 
as  judge  had  a  criminal  charge  for  a  life  offense 

ling  against  him.   .   .   .  Two  hundred  and  I 
two  votes  were  return,  d  in  a  division  that  had  kit 

one    hundred    legal    \otcs    within    its    hound 
aries."  These  extract*  from  a  report  of  the  Munic- 
ipal League  suggest  the  .  I.  .-ti..n   m 
assessor  pads  the  list  with  the  names  of  dead  dogs, 
children,  and  n<>n  r\Ut,nt  perrons.    One  newspaper 
print,  d   th<    picture  of  a  dog,  another  that  of  a 
r-year-old  negro  boy,  down  on  such  a  list, 
ng  orator  in  a  speech  HM  nting  sneers  at  his 
ward  as  "low  down"   remind,  d  his  hearers  that 
that  was  the  ward  of  Independence  Hall,  and,  nam- 
ing over  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Ind,  | 
enee,  he  closed  his  highest  flight  of  eloquence  with 


*00      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

the  statement  that  "  tin-.-  in.  n,  the  fathers  of 
Ameriean  liberty,  \otrd  do\\  n  Inn-  oner.  And,"  he 
added,  \\i\\\  a  catching  <^rin,  "  they  vote  here  yet." 
Rudolph  Hlankenburg,  a  persixtent  fighter  for  tin- 
right  and  the  use  of  the  right  to  vote  (and,  by 
the  \\ay,  an  immigrant),  sent  out  just  before 
one  election  a  registered  letter  to  each  rotef 
on  the  rolls  of  a  certain  Mketed  division.  Sixty- 
three  per  cent,  were  returned  marked  k4  not  at," 
"  removed,"  "  d.  < .  MM  d,"  etc.  From  one  four-story 
house  where  forty-four  voters  wen-  addressed,  eigh- 
te.-n  letters  came  back  undelivered;  from  another 
of  forty-eight  voters,  came  back  forty-one  letters ; 
from  another  sixty-one  out  of  sixty-two;  from 
another,  forty-four  out  of  forty-seven.  Six  honors 
in  one  division  were  assessed  at  one  hundred  and 
seventy-two  voters,  more  than  the  votes  cast  in  the 
previous  election  in  any  one  of  two  hundred  entire 
divisions. 

The  repeating  is  done  boldly,  for  the  machine 
controls  the  election  officers,  often  choosing  them 
from  among  the  fraudulent  names;  and  when  no 
one  appears  to  serve,  assigning  the  heeler  ready  for 
the  expected  vacancy.  The  police  are  forbidden  by 
law  to  stand  within  thirty  feet  of  the  polls,  but 
they  are  at  the  box  and  they  are  there  to  see  that 
the  machine's  orders  are  obeyed  and  that  repeaters 
whom  they  help  to  furnish  are  permitted  to  vote 


I'llll    \DI   I  I'll!  \      (  n\  1  |   \  I  I.I) 
without    "  intimid.itimi  "   on    th«     name*    they,   the 

1  i  of  an  anti-ma- 

papcr  who  wan  looking  about  for  hiniM-lf  once 

told  me  that  a  ward  leader  who  knew  him  *  ill  asked 

him  into  a  polling  pl.u  ,  .     "  Til  *how  you  how  it** 

done,"  he  said,  ami  l>«   hud  th«-  repeaters  go  r 

round   voting  .i^ain  and  again  on   the  IMUMt 
hamKd  tin  m  on  slipn.     ••  Hut/*  a*  the  editor  said, 
M  that  isn't  the  way  it**  done.**    The  repeaters  go 
i  one  polling  ;  .-mother,  \oting  on 

li  change  coats,  hat>. 

I         husimsN  pr.KTeds  with  \«  r\    !'•  w    liitrhrs;  thi-n- 
If  m<>  :{  thiin  fighting.     Violrnn    in  tin-  past 

has  had  its  effect ;  and  is  not  often  necessary  now- 
adays, but   if  it   is  needed  the  police  are  there  to 
applv  it.     S.\n,il  citum  told  nu-  that  they  had 
MH-  polio-  Ii.-Ip  to  1).  -IH  or  election  offi- 

cers who  were  trvin^  to  do  tlu-ir  duty,  then  arrest 
rtim;  ai  «  linton  Rogers  Woodruff,  the 

tivr  counsel   of   tin-    Municipal   League,   has 
puhlished  a  booklet  of  such  cases.     But  an  official 
In-  case  is  at  hand  in  an  announo -mrnt 
hn  \\Y;m  r,  the  new  machine  ma\  iMiil.i 

delphia,  that  li.  i<  ^)in^  to  keep  th«-  polio-  out  of 
|H)litirs  and  away  from  tin-  polU.  %%  I  shall  »ee,w 
he  afldiMl,  *'  that  rvrry  votrr  «n joy-*  th«-  full  ri^ht 
_:••  and  that  ballots  may  be  placed  in  the 
ballot  box  without  fear  of  intimidation.** 


THE  SHAME  OF  Till.  CITIES 

But  ninny  I'hiladelphians  do  not  try  to  vol.-. 
They  lea\.  (\irything  to  the  machine,  and  the 
machine  casts  their  ballots  for  them.  It  is  rxti- 
mated  that  150,000  voters  did  not  go  to  the  polls 
at  the  last  election.  Yet  the  machine  rolled  up  a 
majority  of  130,000  for  Weaver,  with  a  fraudulent 
vote  estimated  all  the  way  from  forty  to  eighty 
thousand,  and  tin-  in  a  campaign  so  machine  made 
that  it  was  called  "no  contest."  Francis  Fisher 
Kane,  the  Democrat,  got  32,000  votes  out  of  some 
204,000.  "What  is  the  use  of  votingr"  these 
stay-at-homes  ask.  A  friend  of  mine  told  me  he 
was  on  the  lists  in  the  three  wards  in  which  he  had 
successively  dwelt.  He  votes  personally  in  none, 
but  the  leader  of  his  present  ward  tells  him  how  he 
has  been  voted.  Mr.  J.  C.  Reynolds,  the  propri- 
etor of  the  St.  James  Hotel,  went  to  the  poll-  at. 
eleven  o'clock  last  election  day,  only  to  be  told  that 
he  had  been  voted.  He  asked  how  many  other-*  from 
his  house  had  voted.  An  election  officer  took  up  a 
list,  checked  off  twelve  names,  two  down  twice,  and 
handed  it  to  him.  When  Mr.  Reynolds  got  home 
he  learned  that  one  of  these  had  voted,  the  others 
had  been  voted.  Another  man  said  he  rarely  at- 
tempted to  vote,  but  when  he  did,  the  officer^  1>  t 
him,  even  though  his  name  had  already  been  voted 
on;  and  then  the  negro  repeaters  would  ask  if  his 
"  brother  was  coming  'round  to-day."  They  were 


nin.ADi.i.i'i  1 1  i)      •" ; 

going  t<>  in,  a«  thej  vote  all  good-nat 

\\ 'In  ii  tin*,  kind  of  man 

turns  mi-  a  leader  to  me,  "  we  Dimply  hare 

two  rejM'Hters  extra — one  to  balance  him  and  one 
more  to  tin-  -..<  necessary*  after  all 

*•.  the  vote  '*  ri^ht,"  and  there  i« 
little  u»e  appealing  to  tin-  courK,  sino-  they  have 
tioiuTH"  '>e  ha  Hot  box  is  secret 

aii.l  •••  opened.    The  only  legal  remedy  lien 

in  tin  pur^m^  ,,f  tin-  assessor's  list*,  and  when  the 
Municipal  League  had  thi>  done  in  1899,  they  re- 
ported that  there  was  **  wholesale  voting  on  »hc 

H  strit-ken  off.** 

M  M«d  of  self-government,  the  Philadelphians 
haven't  «\<  n  self-govr  rnin^  timrliinr  government. 
They  have  tlieir  own  boas,  but  he  and  his  marl  line 
are  subject  to  the  State  rin^,  and  take  their  orders 
from  the  State  boss,  V  -  Quay,  who  is  the 

proprietor  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  real  nil 

lu'a,  just  as  William  lYim,  the  Great  Pro- 

<>r,  was.     rhiladelphians,  especially  the  local 

bosses,  dislike  this  description  of  tlieir  government, 

and  they  point  for  refutation  to  their  charter.   But 

very  Hullitt  Law  was  passed  by  Quay,  and  he 

it   through  the  Legislature,  not   for  reform 

reasons,  but  at  the  instance  of  Da\  M  II    I 

delphia  lieutenant,  as  a  check  upon  the  power 
'>ss  McManes.    Later,  when  McManes  proved 


THE  SHAME  OF  Tin;  CITIES 

hopelessly  insubordinatt  .  (t>uav  decided  to  have 
done  with  him  forever.  Heel  I)  d  Mart  in  for 
boss,  and  from  his  seat  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
IVnn's  successor  raised  up  his  man  and  set  him  «>\< T 
the  people.  Croker,  who  rose  by  his  own  strength 
to  the  head  of  Tammany  Hall,  has  tried  twice  to 
appoint  a  successor;  no  one  else  could,  and  In- 
failed.  The  boss  of  Tammany  Hall  is  a  growth. 
So  Croker  has  attempted  to  appoint  district  leaders 
and  failed ;  a  Tammany  district  leader  is  a  growth. 
Boss  Martin,  picked  up  and  set  down  from  above, 
was  accepted  by  Philadelphia  and  tin  Philadelphia 
machine,  and  he  removed  old  ward  leaders  and  ap- 
pointed new  ones.  Some  leaders  in  Philadelphia 
own  their  wards,  of  course,  but  Martin  and,  after 
him,  Durham  have  sent  men  into  a  ward  to  lead  it, 
and  they  have  led  it. 

The  Philadelphia  organization  is  upside  down. 
It  has  its  root  in  the  air,  or,  rather,  like  the  banyan 
tree,  it  sends  its  roots  from  the  center  out  both  up 
and  down  and  all  around,  and  there  lies  its  peculiar 
strength.  For  when  I  said  it  was  dependent  and 
not  sound,  I  did  not  mean  that  it  was  weak.  It  is 
dependent  as  a  municipal  machine,  but  the  organ- 
ization that  rules  Philadelphia  is,  as  we  have  seen, 
not  a  mere  municipal  machine,  but  a  city,  State, 
and  national  organization.  The  people  of  Phila- 
delphia are  Republicans  in  a  Republican  city  in  a 


I'illLADl  I  rill  \     <  ONTENTED     f05 
Mican  State  in  «  Urpuhlicun  and  they 

^  on  rin^  on  ring.  Tlie  President  of 
tin  United  States  and  his  patronage;  the  National 
<  <  t  in J  tL  ir  patronage;  the  Congrats  and  the 
patronage  of  the  Senators  and  the  Congressmen 
I '  imtylvania ;  the  Governor  of  the  State  and 
the  State  Ix'gUlfiturr  with  thrir  powers  and  pat- 
ronage; and  all  •  mayor  and  ciiy  cot: 
have  of  power  ami  patronage — all  these  ln.tr  ilnwn 
upon  Philadelphia  to  k««p  it  in  thr  control  of 
Quay's  boss  and  his  little  ring.  Thi*  is  the  ideal 
of  party  organization,  and,  ponnibly,  is  the  end 
toward  which  our  dt  republic  is  ten* 
If  it  is,  the  end  is  absolutism.  Nothing  but  a  revo- 

•i  cou  Id  .  w  this  oligai 

its  danger.     With  no  mill*  t  .it  the  polls  for  puhlic 
feeling,  the  machim-  ( -an not  be  taught  anything  it 
does  not  know  except  at  the  cost  of  annihilation. 
But  th«  Iphia  machine-leaders  know  t 

icss.      As   I   said    in    "  Tweed    Days    in 
I  jioliticians   will    learn,   if  the   people 

won't,  from  exposure  and  reform.  T  1'  nsyl- 
vania  bosses  learned  the  "  uses  of  reform  " ;  we 
have  seen  Quay  applying  it  t. 

and  he  since  has  turned  reformer  himself,  to  pun- 
local  bosses.     The  bosses  have  learned  also 
the  danger  of  combination  between  citizens  and  the 
Democrats.    To  prevent  this,  Quay  and  his  friends 


206  THE  SHAME  OF  Till  CITIES 
have  spread  sedulously  the  doctrine  of  "  reform 
within  the  party,"  and,  from  the  Committee  of  One 
Hundred  on,  the  reformers  have  stuck  pretty  faith- 
fully to  this  principle.  But  lest  the  citizens  should 
commit  such  a  sin  against  their  party,  Martin 
formed  a  permanent  combination  of  the  Democrat  ic 
with  the  Republican  organization,  using  to  that 
end  a  goodly  share  of  the  Federal  and  county  pat- 
ronage. Thus  the  people  of  Philadelphia  we  re 
"  fixed  "  so  that  they  couldn't  vote  if  they  wanted 
to,  and  if  they  should  want  to,  they  couldn't  vote 
for  a  Democrat,  except  of  Republican  or  independ- 
ent choosing.  In  other  words,  having  taken  away 
their  ballot,  the  bosses  took  away  also  the  choice  of 
parties. 

But  the  greatest  lesson  learned  and  applied  was 
that  of  conciliation  and  "  good  government."  The 
people  must  not  want  to  vote  or  rebel  against  the 
ring.  This  ring,  like  any  other,  was  formed  for 
the  exploitation  of  the  city  for  private  profit,  and 
the  cementing  force  is  the  "  cohesive  power  of 
public  plunder."  But  McMancs  and  Tweed  had 
proved  that  miscellaneous  larceny  was  dangerous, 
and  why  should  a  lot  of  cheap  politicians  get  so 
much  and  the  people  nothing  at  all?  The  people 
had  been  taught  to  expect  but  little  from  their 
rulers:  good  water,  good  light,  clean  streets  well 
paved,  fair  transportation,  the  decent  repression  of 


mil  \Di  l  NllA:  CONTENTED     f07 
jMililic  order  ami  j.ul.l..   >  if,  t\,  and  no  scan- 
dulou*  or  op*  i  ,-tion,  would  more  tlmn  sir 

thrni.     It  would  be  good  business  and  good  politics 
to  give  them  these  things.    Like  Chris  Mage*,  who 
(1  out    the   problem   with  him,  Martin  took 
away  from  the  rank  and  file  of  the  party  and  from 
A  art!  leaders  and  office  holders  the  privilege  at 
,  and  he  formed  companies  and  groups  to  han- 
r  legitimate  public  business  of  the  city.     It 
was  all  graft,  Imt   it  was  to  tie  all  lawful,  and,  in 
.  it  was.     Public-  franchise*,  public  works, 
and  puhlic  contracts  were  the  principal  brandies 
<>f  tin   husincss,  and  Martin  adopted  the  dual  boss 
idea,  which  we  have  seen  worked  out  by  Magee  and 
i  in  Pittsburg.    In  Philadelphia  it  was  Martin 
and  Portrr,  and  just  as  Flinn  had  a  firm,  Booth 
&  Flinn,  Ltd.,  so  pai  1'illurt  and  Porter. 

I    ll>ert  and  Porter  got  all  the  public  contracts 
could  handle,  and  the  rest  went  to  other  con- 
<lly  to  them  and  to  the  ring.    Some- 
tlu   pi  .f.  i  red  contractor  was  the  lowest  bid- 
der, but  he  did  not  have  to  be.     The  law  allowed 
awards  to  be  the  "  lowest  and  best,"  and  the  courts 
that   tins  gave  the  officials  discretion.     But 
since  public  criticism  was  to  be  considered,  the 
rin£,  to  keep  up  appearances,  resorted  to  many 
t  ricks.    One  was  to  have  fake  bids  made  above  the 
favorite.     Another  was  to  have  the  favorite  bid 


THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

high,  but  set  an  impovsihlr  tiinr  limit  ;  tin-  (k-purt- 
nunt  of  the  city  councils  could  extend  tin-  time 
aft i  rwards.  Still  another  was  to  arrange  for  spec- 
ifications which  would  make  outsiders  bid  high, 
then  either  openly  alter  the  plans  or  let  the  ring 
firm  perform  work  not  up  to  requirements. 

Many  of  Martin's  deals  and  jobs  were  scandals, 
but  they  were  safe;  they  were  in  the  direction  of 
public  service;  and  the  great  mass  of  the  business 
was  done  quietly.  Moreover,  the  public  was  get- 
ting something  for  its  money, — not  full  value,  but 
a  good  percentage.  In  other  words,  there  was  a 
limit  to  the  "  rake-off,"  and  some  insiders  have  told 
me  that  it  had  been  laid  down  as  a  principle  with 
the  ring  that  the  people  should  have  in  value  ( that 
is,  in  work  or  benefit,  including  a  fair  profit)  nine- 
ty-five cents  out  of  every  dollar.  In  some  of  the 
deals  I  have  investigated,  the  "  rake-off  "  over  and 
above  profit  was  as  high  as  twenty-five  per  cent. 
Still,  even  at  this,  there  was  "  a  limit,"  and  the 
public  was  getting,  as  one  of  the  leaders  told  me, 
"  a  run  for  its  money."  Cynical  as  it  all  sounds, 
this  view  is  taken  by  many  Philadelphians  almost 
if  not  quite  as  intelligent  as  my  college  professor. 

But  there  was  another  element  in  the  policy  of 
conciliation  which  is  a  potent  factor  in  the  content- 
ment of  Philadelphia,  and  I  regard  it  as  the  key  to 
that  "  apathy  "  which  has  made  the  community 


I'HII. \DI.I. Till  \      (  ON  I  I  A  I  I   1) 
notorious      \\     have  Men  how  Quay  had  with  him 
the  Federal  resource!  and  thotc  of  the  State,  and 

State  ring,  and  we  have  teen  how  Mn 
having  ti  major,  and  councils,  won  over  the 

Democrat  leaders.    Here  they  had  under  paj 

in  office  at  least  15,000  men  and  women.  But  each 
of  these  15,000  persons  was  selected  for  office  be- 
cause he  could  deliver  votes,  either  by  organiza- 
tions, by  parties,  or  by  families.  These  must  rep- 
resent pr.  My  near  a  majority  of  the  city's  voters. 

t  his  is  by  no  means  the  end  of  the  ring's  reach. 
In  the  State  ring  are  the  great  corporations,  the 
Standard  Oil  Company,  Cramp's  Shipyard,  and 
the  steel  companies,  with  t}..-  \\  nnsylvania  Rail- 
road at  their  head,  and  all  the  local  transportation 
ami  nt lu T  public  utility  companies  following  a* 
get  franchises,  _ces,  exemptions,  - 

they  have  helped  (<»uay  through  deals:  the 

sylvania  paid  Martin,  Quay  said  once,  a  large 

yearly  salary;  the  Cramps  get  contracts  to  build 

I'nitfd  States  ships,  and  for  years  have  been  beg- 

|  for  a  subsidy  on  home-made  ships.    The  offi- 

» tors,  and  stockholders  of  these  companies, 

with    tlu-ir   friends    their   hankers,   and   their  em- 

ees,  are  of  the  or.  ion.     Better  still,  one 

of  the  local  bosses  of  Philadelphia  told  me  he  could 
always  give  a  worker  a  job  with  these  companies, 
ju>t  as  he  could  in  a  city  department,  or  in  the 


210      THK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

mint,  or  post-office.  Thru  there  an-  the  hankers 
who  enjov,  or  niav  some  day  enjoy,  public  deposits; 
tlioM-  that  profit  on  loans  to  finance  political  finan- 
cial dials;  the  promoting  capitalists  who  share  with 
the  hosses  on  franchises;  and  the  brokers  who  deal 
in  ring  securities  and  speculate  upon  ring  tips. 
Through  the  exchange  the  ring  financiers  reach  the 
investing  public,  which  is  a  large  and  influential 
body.  The  traction  companies,  which  bought  thrir 
way  from  beginning  to  end  by  corruption,  which 
have  always  been  in  the  ring,  and  whose  financiers 
have  usually  shared  in  other  big  ring  deals,  adopted 
early  the  policy  of  bribing  the  people  with  "  small 
blocks  of  stock."  Dr.  Frederick  Spcirs,  in  his 
"The  Street  Railway  System  of  Philadelphia," 
came  upon  transactions  which  "  indicate  clearly 
that  it  is  the  policy  of  the  Union  Company  to  get 
the  securities  into  the  hands  of  a  large  number  of 
small  holders,  the  plain  inference  being  that  a  wide 
distribution  of  securities  will  fortify  the  company 
against  possible  attacks  by  the  public."  In  1895 
he  found  a  director  saying:  "  Our  critics  have  en- 
gaged the  Academy  of  Music,  and  are  to  call  an 
a--t mblage  of  people  opposed  to  the  street  railways 
as  now  managed.  It  would  take  eight  Academies 
of  Music  to  hold  the  stockholders  of  the  Union 
Traction  Company." 

But  we  are  not  yet  through.    Quay  has  made  a 


I'Hll.ADI  1.1'IIIV:  CONT1   MID 
specialty  all  Ins  1 1 IV  of  reformer*,  and  he  aii<: 
local  bosses  have  woo  over  so  many  tlutt  th«  l^t  «>f 
.  i ,  i->  \<  i  \ .  wry  long.    Martin  drove 
down  hi«   rooU  through  race  and  religion,  too. 

•  Uphiii  was  one  of  the  hot -bed*  of  **  know- 
II..H.IM-: M.I."  Martin  recogniied  the  Catholic,  and 
the  Iri-1.  lush,  and  to  drew  off*  into  th.-  Republican 

v  the  great  natural  aupplv  of  the  Democrat*; 
and  lib  suceetton  have  given  hig) 
sent.-.  ir.ly  thin  Un't  corruption!** 

No,  and  nritlu -r  is  that  corruption  uliich  inaket  the 
headt  of  great  educational  and  rharitv  in-titi.- 
"  go  along,**  as  they  say  in  Pennsylvania,  in  order 
to  get  appropriations  for  tht-ir  institution*  from 
the  S  1  land  from  t  They  know  what 

is  going  on,  but  they  do  not  jo  u  movements. 

The  provost  of  t !     i         rsitv  of  r 

i  in  a  n  volt  because,  he  said,  it  ini^lit 

.;r  his  usi-ftilnrss  to  thr  I  \  .      And  so  it 

is  witli  oth.  r>,  and  with  clergymen  who  hnv.   fa\or 
liarities;  with  Sahhath  a—.ci.itions  and  < 

1  clubs;  with  lawyers  who  want  briefs; 
real  estate  dealers  who  like  to  know  in  advance 
about  public  improvements,  and  real  estate  owners 
who  appreciate  light  assessments ;  with  shopkeepers 
who  don't  want  to  be  bothered  with  strict  inspec- 
tions. 

lure  is  no  other  hold  for  the  ring  on  a  man 


T1IK  SHAME  OF  '1111.  dTir.S 

there  alu;i\s  IN  tin-  protective  tariff'.  "I  don't 
care,"  said  a  manufacturer.  "What  if  they  do 
plunder  and  rob  us,  it  can't  hurt  me  unlevs  they 
raise  the  tax  rates,  and  even  that  won't  ruin  me. 
Our  party  keeps  up  the  tariff.  If  they  should  K 
duce  that,  my  business  would  he  ruined." 

Such,  then,  are  the  ramifications  of  this  machine, 
such  is  its  strength.  No  wonder  Martin  could 
break  his  own  rules,  as  he  did,  and  commit  excesses. 
Philadelphia  is  not  merely  corrupt,  it  is  corrupted. 
Martin's  doom  was  proclaimed  not  in  Philadelphia, 
but  in  the  United  States  Senate,  and  his  offense  was 
none  of  this  business  of  his,  but  his  failure  to  nom- 
inate as  successor  to  Mayor  Stuart  the  man,  Boise 
Penrose,  whom  Matt  Quay  chose  for  that  place. 
Martin  had  consented,  but  at  the  last  moment  he 
ordered  the  nomination  of  Charles  F.  Warwick  in- 
stead. The  day  that  happened  Mr.  Quay  arose  on 
the  floor  of  the  Senate  and,  in  a  speech  so  irrelevant 
to  the  measure  under  consideration  that  nobody 
out  of  Pennsylvania  understood  it,  said  that  there 
was  in  his  town  a  man  who  had  given  as  his  reason 
for  not  doing  what  he  had  promised  to  do,  the  ex- 
CUM-  that  he  was  "  under  a  heavy  salary  from  a 
great  corporation  (the  Pennsylvania  Railroad) 
and  was  compelled  to  do  what  the  corporation 
wished  him  to  do.  And,"  added  Senator  Quay, 
"  men  in  such  a  position  with  high  power  for  good 


PHILADELPHIA    <  ONTENTED     f!8 

•  go  aboi  d-.l 

iark  of  the  cur]  r  foreheads." 

-.  named  as  the  new  boat  Israel  W.  Durham,  a 

ward  lender  under  M 

Martin  having  •  h  rough  Major  Warwick 

in  the  State,  with  Chris  Magee  for  an 
allv,  but  Quay  t»  -i  then-,  and  then  pre- 

pared to  Ix-at  tin  in  iii  their  own  ritie*.     i  I         v  was 
in,    and    he    .soon    had    the    people    about  m^ 
it 

iy  responded  with  a  Legislative  committee  to 
investigate  abuses  in  the  cities,  hut   this  no-called 
44  Lexow  "  was  called  off  before  it  amounted  to 
much  more  th/m  a  momentary  embarrassment  to 
kin.       Martin's    friends,    on  the    other    hand, 
hi  Quay  and  nearly  sent  him  to  prison.    The 
People's  Bank,  James   M    M  mes,  president,  failed. 
^    !  I    pkins,  had  lx?en  speculat- 
ing and  Irttin^  Quay  and  other  politicians  have 
bank  funds  without  <oll.it*  r.il  for  stock  gambling. 
!  iv  and  the  State  Treasurer  left  heavy 

State  deposits  with  the  bank.     Hopkins  lost    1,^ 
and  shot  himself.    McManes  happened  to  call 
lends  of  Martin  to  advise  him.  and  these  sug- 
gested a  Martin  man  for  receiver.     They  found 
among  the  items  money  lent  to  Qua\  t  se- 

curity, except  the  State  funds,  and  telegrams  ask- 
ing Hopkins  to  l.uv  "  1000  Met  "  (Metropolitan) 


214      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

and  promising  in  return  to  "  shake  tin-  plum  tree." 
(Juuv,  his  .son,  Richard  H.,  and  Benjamin  J.  Hay- 
wood,  the  State  Treasurer,  were  indicted  for  con- 
spiracy, and  every  effort  was  made  to  have  tin-  trial 
precede  the  next  election  for  the  Legislature  which 
was  to  elect  a  successor  to  Quay  in  the  United 
States  Senate;  but  Quay  got  stays  and  postpone- 
ments in  the  hopes  that  a  more  friendly  District 
Attorney  could  be  put  in  that  office.  Martin  se- 
cured the  election  of  Peter  F.  Rothermel,  who  was 
eager  to  try  the  case,  and  Quay  had  to  depend  on 
other  resources.  The  trial  came  in  due  course,  and 
failed;  Judge  Diddle  ruled  out  the  essential  evi- 
dence on  the  ground  that  it  was  excluded  by  the 
statute  of  limitation.  Rothermel  went  on  with  the 
trial,  but  it  was  hopeless ;  Quay  was  acquitted  and 
the  other  cases  were  abandoned. 

Popular  feeling  was  excited  by  this  exposure  of 
Quay,  but  there  was  no  action  till  the  factional 
fighting  suggested  a  use  for  it.  Quay  had  refused 
the  second  United  States  Senatorship  to  John 
Wanamaker,  and  Wanamaker  led  through  the 
State  and  in  Philadelphia  a  fight  against  the  boss, 
which  has  never  ceased.  It  took  the  form  of  a  re- 
form campaign,  and  Quay's  methods  were  made 
plain,  but  the  boss  beat  Wanamaker  at  every  point, 
had  Pen  rose  made  Senator,  and  through  Pen  rose 
and  Durham  was  gradually  gfttin<r  p<>^(  ..ion  of 


PHILADELPHIA    «>\ TENTED     f!5 

rhilad.  Iphi.'i.     The  final  triumph  came  with  the 

mill  II.  AO.t.f.dg*  as  major. 

44  Stars  ripe*  Sam,"  as  AshbKdgv  is  soot* 

i  was  a  speech-maker  and  a  "  joiner.** 

That  is  to  taj,  he  made  a  practice  of  goin^  t.> 

lodges,  associations,  brotherhoods,  Sundaj -schools, 

ill  sorts  of  public  and  private  meetings, 

ome,  hut  making  at  all  speeches  patriotic  and 

mental.      He  was  very  popular.     Under  th«- 

Bullitt  LAW,  as  I  have  said,  all  that  is  necessary  to 

a  good  administration  and  complrtr,  though  tcm- 

pora  !i,  i«  a  good  mayor.    The  politicians 

Mi.it  tin  v  must  nominate  a  man  in  whom  the 

people  as  well  as  themselves  have  faith.    They  had 

had  faith  in  Warw  irk,  lx>th  the  riiitf  find  the  people, 

ami  Warwick  hail  found  it  impossihle  to  satisfy  two 

stu-h  masters.     Now  Uiey  put   tlu-ir  faith  in  Ash- 

_CC,  and  so  <lid  Durham,  and  so  did  Martin.     All 

vats  accepte<l  him,  therefore,  and  all  wat 

him  with  hope  and  more  or  left  assurance;  none 

more  than  the  good  people.     And,  indeed,  no  man 

muld  II.INC  promised  more  or  public  sen-ice 

Ashhridge.     The  result,  however,  was  dis- 

Mr.  Ashbridgc  i(  threw  down  "  Martin,  and  he 
recognized  Quay's  man,  "I        I )  irham,  as  the  po- 
ll boss.     Durham  is  a  high  type  of  boss,  can- 
did, but  of  few  words;  generous,  but  businesslike ; 


216      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

complrti'  master  of  him^  If,  and  a  genius  at  organ- 
ization. For  lYnn-H\  Ivania  politics  he  is  n  cons,  ,-v- 
ativi-  leader,  and  tlim-  would  have  Invn  no  «  \< 
under  In'in,  as  there  have  been  few  "  rows."  Hut 
Mi.  Durham  has  not  been  the  master  of  the  Phila- 
delphia situation.  He  bowed  to  Quay,  and  he  could 
not  hold  Ashbridge.  Philadelphia!!*  sav  that  if 
it  should  come  to  a  fight,  Durham  could  beat  Quay 
in  Philadelphia,  but  it  doesn't  come  to  a  fight.  An- 
other thing  Philadelphians  say  is  that  he  "  k«  <  p- 
his  word,"  yet  he  broke  it  (with  notice)  when  Quay 
asked  him  to  stand  for  Pennypacker  for  Governor. 
As  I  said  before,  however,  Philadelphia  is  so  con- 
stituted that  it  apparently  cannot  have  self-gov- 
ernment, not  even  its  own  boss,  so  that  the  alle- 
giance paid  to  Quay  is  comprehensible.  But  the 
submission  of  the  boss  to  the  mayor  was  extraor- 
dinary, and  it  seemed  to  some  sagacious  politicians 
dangerous. 

For  Mr.  Ashbridge  broke  through  all  the  prin- 
ciples of  moderate  grafting  developed  by  Martin. 
Durham  formed  his  ring — taking  in  James  P.  Mc- 
Nichol  as  co- ruler  and  preferred  contractor;  John 
M.  Mack  as  promoter  and  financier ;  and  he  widened 
the  inside  circle  to  include  more  individuals.  But 
while  he  was  more  liberal  toward  his  leaders,  and 
not  inclined  "  to  grab  off  everything  for  himself," 
as  one  leader  told  me,  he  maintained  the  principle 


run  \DI  i mi  ,  i  \  i  i  i)      HI 

•it  nil  a*  good  pn! 

and  tfood  business.     So,  too,  he  ncloj 
programme  of  public-  improvement-,,  th.  filtr 
vards,  .-•  \\ 

_;ewas  wt-ll  s.  tt!,  d  in  nffirr,  those  schemes  *<•  rr 

all  started,    ir.d  the  mayor  pUfthcd  them  *ith  a  will. 

rdiiitf  to  tli.  r  .di-lphia  PUn/*  t lie  major 
should  not  I.,  in  tin  mi;;  I!  hould  be  an  ambi- 
tion-  i«l  his  r«v\  ml  proiimt  ion,  not  richem. 

If  I..-  is  M  .,ut    f,,r  H'r  stuffV  I"    i-  hk.  !\    to  In-  hiir- 

I  thought  that  his  t«-rm  is  h 
veara,  and  HMO   he  cannot  nuccecd  himnelf 
a«  mayor,  his  intm-st  in  tin-  futuro  «>f  tin-  murhinr 
U  \en  than  that  of  a  bo*§,  who  goei  on  fon 

When  he  was  nominate),  Afthbridge  had  debt*  of 

record  amounting  to  some  $40,000.    Before  he  was 

liese  were  «ati»fi<d.     Soon  after  he  took 

office    IK    d.  ( lan-d   himsrlf   to    forinrr   Postmaster 

I        i  is   I.    Hicks.     H.n    is  Mr.  Hicka*s  account 

of  t!  nt  : 

"  At  on.  of  the  early  interviews  I  had  with  tin- 
mayor  in  his  office,  he  said  to  me:  'Tom,  I  have 
been  elected  mayor  of  Philadelphia.  I  have  four 
years  to  serve.  I  hn  •  irther  amhitions.  I 

want  no  other  office  when  I  am  out  of  this  one,  and 
I  shall  get  out  of  this  office  all  there  is  in  it  for 
Samuel  H.  A*hbridge.' 

••  I  remarked  that  this  was  a  very  foolish  thing 


218      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

to  say.     'Think  how  that  could  be  construed/  I 

said. 

"  *  I  don't  care  anything  about  that,'  he  de- 
Hared.  '  I  mean  to  get  out  of  this  office  everything 
then-  is  in  it  for  Samuel  H.  Ashbridge.' ' 

\Yhen  lit-  n  tired  from  office  last  April,  lie  became 
the  president  of  a  bank,  and  was  reputed  to  be  rich. 
II'  n*  is  the  summary  published  by  the  Municipal 
League  at  the  close  of  his  labors : 

"  The  four  years  of  the  Ashbridge  administra- 
tion have  passed  into  history,  leaving  behind  them 
a  M'ar  on  the  fame  and  reputation  of  our  city  which 
will  be  a  long  time  healing.  Never  before,  and  let. 
us  hope  never  again,  will  there  be  such  brazen  defi- 
ance of  public  opinion,  such  flagrant  disregard  of 
public  interest,  such  abuse  of  powers  and  responsi- 
bilities for  private  ends.  These  are  not  generali/a- 
tions,  but  each  statement  can  be  abundantly  proved 
by  numerous  instances." 

These  "  numerous  instances  "  are  notorious  in 
Philadelphia ;  some  of  them  were  reported  all  over 
the  country.  One  of  them  was  the  attempted  in- 
timidation of  John  Wanamaker.  Thomas  B. 
Wanamaker,  John  Wanamaker's  son,  bought  the 
North  American,  a  newspaper  which  had  been, 
and  still  is,  exposing  the  abuses  and  corruption 
of  the  political  ring.  Abraham  L.  English,  Mr. 
Ashbridge's  Director  of  the  Department  of  Public 


mil  \m  1  nil  \    (  DOT  i  N'TED     119 

Saftt  ,1  mi   Mr.  John  Wmmiimker,  »n 

IR-CII   having  him   watched,   and   was  finally 
in  a.  po*r  (iemaod  tlmt  the  newspaper  stop 

the   attacks.     The   nun  hunt    .\|M»M<|    the   whole 
tiling,  and  a  committee  apj>-  .ve»tigatc 

reported    thnt :      "  Mr.    Knglish    ha*    practically 

admitf.d    th.it    IK-   attempted  to   intimidate   11    t 

table  citizen  and  unlawfully  threatened  him  in  an 

mv  criticism  of  a  public  news  pa 
that  from  tin-  mayor**  refusal  to  ord«T  an  investi- 
gation of  the  conduct  of   M       I  ngliith  on  the  re- 
quest of  a  town  meeting  of  represent  a  /.ens, 

.••immunity   is  justified   in    regarding   him   as 
uiding   and   nix-Ming   Mr.    Knglish   in   tlu-  corrupt 
•uittrd,   and   that    the   mayor   is   tht-refore 
t«.  IMJ  equally  censured  by  the  comnuin:' 

•n -r  "  instances  of  brazen  abuse  of  pow- 

\u-n-  the  increase  of  protected  vice — the  im- 
portation from  New  York  of  th»   "  whit,    si 
systi  i-o.stitut:  growth  of  "speak- 

easies,** and  the  spread  of  gambling  and  of  p<> 

ng  until  it  took  in  the  school  childn-n.     Thi- 
last  the  \orth  American  exposed,  but  in  vain  till 

med  police  officers  who  had  refused  when  asked 
Thru  a  judge  summoned  the  editors 
and  report,  rs  of  the  paper,  the  mayor,  Director 
English,  school  children,  and  police  officers  to  ap- 
pear before  him.    The  mayor's  personal  attorney 


220      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

>pokr    for   the    police-   during    tin-    inquiry,    and    it 
looked  black  for  the  newspaper  till  tin-  children  lx 
gan  to  tell  their  stories.     When  the  hearing  was 
<»\.  r  the  judge  said: 

"  The  evidence  shows  conclusively  that  our  pub- 
lic school  system  in  this  city  is  in  danger  of  being 
corrupted  at  its  fountain  ;  that  in  one  of  the  schools 
over  a  hundred  and  fifty  children  were  buyers  of 
policy,  as  were  also  a  large  number  of  scholar^  in 
other  schools.  It  was  first  diM-ovrn-d  about 
eighteen  months  ago,  and  for  about  one  year  has 
been  in  full  operation."  The  police  officers  were 
not  punished,  however. 

That  corruption  had  reached  the  public  schools 
and  was  spreading  rapidly  through  the  system, 
was  discovered  by  the  exposure  and  conviction  of 
three  school  directors  of  the  twenty-eighth  ward. 
It  was  known  before  that  teachers  and  principals, 
like  any  other  office  holders,  had  to  have  a  "  pull  " 
and  pay  assessments  for  election  expenses.  "  Vol- 
untary contributions  "  was  the  term  used,  but  over 
the  notices  in  blue  pencil  was  written  "  2  per  cent.," 
and  teachers  who  asked  directors  and  ward  lx 
what  to  do,  were  advised  that  they  would  "  better 
pay."  Those  that  sent  less  than  the  amount  sug- 
gested, got  receipts :  "  check  received ;  shall  we 
hold  for  balance  or  enter  on  account?"  But  tin- 
exposure  in  the  twenty-eighth  ward  brought  it 


rim  \DI  i  rm  \    «.\  i  i  M  i.i)     tfl 

'  f  the  children  that  the  teach- 

er*  were   IHI!    •  ho-,,  n  >*,  hut    for   |M>! 

reason*,  and  that  th.   j...:.t ..  ul  reasons  liad  become 

rash. 

M         i;  \     Iliydock    testified  aj   follows: 

a  I  went  to  tee  V  .  i*,  uh<»  wan  a  friend  of 

iiiin.-,  in  i  -  f-  r.  n.  "tf  a  teacher's  certificate. 

He  advi*.  -  nee  all  of  tin-  directors,  especially 

M'     I:  I       v  ti.1,1  me  t  Mild  lie  neceft- 

IIM   to  pay  $1£0  to  w\  tin-  place.    They 

•    nirl  ulio  had  ntl'i  red  $£50,  an<: 
MI  had  been  d.     That  was  before 

hronrhcfl  tin   -•..  <>  me.    I  said 

I  didn't   h.-ive  $120  to  pay,  and  th.-v  r-  ; 
it  was  rustninai  *o  pay  $40  a 

month  nut  of  thrir  first  thiv<-  months*  salary.     The 

salary  was  $47.    'I         told  me  they  dUbHwaatthfl 
nioiu-v  for  themselves,  hut  that  it  wa«  necessary  to 

I     i  illy  I  agreed  to  the 

.-.xitinn,  and  tli.  v  told  uu-  that   I  must  be  carc- 

ful  not  to  mention  it  to  anybody  or  it  would  in- 

jun-  m\  Ml.      I    HOd    «ith   inv   hrntln-r   to 

pay  the  mot  lohnsnn.      He  held  out   a 

iiid  « In  ii  inv  l.rothrr  handed  the  money  to  him 

•  ok  it  hehind  the  h:r 

Tin  M  of  the  ring  WR.S  likr  that  of 

\         I  have  space  only 
for  <  of  ont   phase  of  it:  Widener  and 


222       11  IK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

Klkins,  the  national  franchise  himr-,  arc  Phila- 
delphians,  and  they  \\ere  in  the  old  Martin  rin«j. 
They  had  combined  all  the  street  railways  of  the. 
fit  v  before  1900,  and  they  \\eiv  \\  ithdni\vin<^  from 
politics,  with  their  traction  system.  But  the  Penn- 
sylvania rings  will  not  let  corporations  that  have 
ri>rn  in  corruption  reform  and  retire,  and,  besides, 
it  was  charged  that  in  the  Martin-Quay  fight,  the 
street  railways  had  put  up  money  to  beat  Quay  for 
the  United  States  Senate.  At  any  rate,  plans  \\  en- 
fold to  "  mace  "  the  street  railways. 

"  Macing  "  is  a  form  of  high  blackmail.  When 
they  have  sold  out  all  they  have,  the  politicians 
form  a  competing  company  and  compel  the  old 
concern  to  buy  out  or  sell  out.  While  Wid<  IK  r  and 
Klkins  were  at  sea,  bound  for  Europe,  in  1901,  the 
Philadelphia  ring  went  to  the  Legislature  and  had 
introduced  there  two  bills,  granting  a  charter  to 
practically  all  the  streets  and  alleys  not  covered  by 
tracks  in  Philadelphia,  and  to  run  short  stretches 
of  the  old  companies'  tracks  to  make  connections. 
Clinton  Rogers  Woodruff,  who  was  an  Assembly- 
man, has  told  the  story.  Without  notice  the  hills 
were  introduced  at  3  P.  M.  on  Monday,  May  29; 
they  were  reported  from  committee  in  five  minutes ; 
by  8.50  p.  M.  they  were  printed  and  on  the  mem- 
bers' desk,  and  by  9  P.  M.  Were  passed  on  first  read- 
ing. The  bills  passed  second  reading  the 


mil. ADI. I. PHI  \      («.MI\I  I.D       ttS 
day,  Mt-i  and  on  th.    tluni  day  were 

|>aSft<'d    !'r.»|||    tin-    Senate    to    tin-     IliUlM-,    *  llCFC    UlCJ 

"jammed  through**  with  »imiUr  haste  and 
wor>«  y.     In  six  legislative  days  the  meal 

ures  were  before  Governor  Stone,  who  signed  them 

June  7,   at    midnight,    in    the   presence   of   (,» 

ngressman    Foerderer,    Mayor    A»h- 

hrid^e\    hanker,    James    P.    McNichol,    John    M. 

and  ot!  iliNts  ami  polit irjitim.     Under 

iw,  one  huniln  <l  rlmrtors  were  appli«i  for  the 

morning      thirteen    for    Philiuli-lpliiii.     Thr 

•  I  on  June  5f  and  tlmt  same 

day  a  s{xci.il  m<-<  tin^  of  tin-  Plnl.i.l.  Ipliia  Select 

'         ril  \\u«»  c.ill.d  for  Monday.     There  th*- 

lens  of   IMiihulrlphia   met    th.    uncoitiin^  charters, 

hut   llu-ir  hearing  was  bri.  t       The  charters  went 

:^h  without  ii  hitch,  and  were  sent  to  Major 

Igf  on  June  18. 

The  mayor's  secretary  stated  authoritatively  in 

the  morning  that  the  mayor  would  not  sign 

day.     Hut  IK-  did.     An  unexpected  incident  forced 

hand.     John   Wanamaker  sent    him  an  offer 

of   $2,500,000  for    the    :  cs    about    to    be 

n  away.    Ashbridge  threw  the  letter  into  the 

street    unread.     Mr.    Wanamaker    had   deposited 

$250,000  as  a  guarantee  of  good  faith  and  his  ac- 

was  becoming  known.     The  ordinances  were 

signed  by  midnight,  and  the  city  lost  at  least  two 


224      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

and  OIK'  half  millions  of  dollar* :  hut  tin-  ring  madr 
it  and  much  more.  \Vlim  Mr.  Wanamaker's  K  tt«  r 
was  published,  Con^iv.ssman  Focrduvr,  an  incor- 
porator  of  the  company,  answered  for  tlu  ma<  him  . 
He  said  the  offer  was  an  advertisement ;  that  it  was 
lit.,  and  that  they  were  sorry  they  hadn't  had  a 
chance  to  "call  the  bluff."  Mr.  Wanamaker  n 
sponded  with  a  renewal  of  the  off.  r  of  >'>,:>(><),()()() 
to  the  city,  and,  he  said,  "  I  will  add  <:>()<),000  as  a 
bonus  to  yourself  and  your  associates  personally 
for  the  conveyance  of  the  grants  and  corporate 
privileges  you  now  possess."  That  ended  the  con- 
troversy. 

But  the  deal  went  on.  Two  more  bills,  called 
"  Trolley  Chasers,"  were  put  through,  to  finish  off 
the  legislation,  too  hurriedly  done  to  be  perfect. 
One  was  to  give  the  company  the  right  to  build 
either  elevated  or  underground,  or  both;  the  sec- 
ond to  forbid  all  further  such  grants  without  a 
hearing  before  a  board  consisting  of  the  Governor, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  the  At- 
torney-General. With  all  these  franchises  and  <  \ 
elusive  privileges,  the  new  company  made  the  old 
one  lease  their  plant  in  operation  to  the  company 
which  had  nothing  but  "  rights,"  or,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania slang,  a  "  good,  husky  mace." 

Ashbridgeism  put  Philadelphia  and  the  Phila- 
delphia   machine    to    a    test    which    candid    ring 


mil.. \nr.i. I'l          nvi  i.vn.i) 

leaden*  did  not  thin!  Id  »tand.     \Vh«f 

Philadelphia!*    do?       Notion-        They    have 

y  have  men  like  Prancu  B. 

Reeves,  who   fought    with  every   »t  might   reform 

in. ut  from  the  days  of  the  (  <•  of  One 

davc  men  like  Rudolph   liUnken- 

hurtf,   who  have   fought   with  e\  m>   that 

liwci  any  kind  of  .    an-  tin-  Munir- 

i|ml   League,  with  an  organuatinii  hy  wardft,  the 

M  miripal    league,    tin-    Allird    Reform 

League,  and  the  Law  and  Order  Soci« '  1  arc 

young  men  and  \.trrans;  there  are  disappo; 

unhitioiis  men  who  are  not  ad- 
vanced fast  enough  by  the  machine.  There  is  die- 
lit  in  a  good  many  hearts,  and  some  men  are 
ashamed.  Hut  "tin-  jH-opK-  "  won't  follow.  One 
would  think  tin-  IMiiladrlphianft  would  follow  any 
leader;  what  should  •  <  uhrther  he  is  pure 

white  or  only  gray?     Hut   they  do  care.     "Tin- 
people99  seem  t<>  to  be  ruled  by  a  known 
than  an  ambitious  reform*  r.    Tlu-y  will  make 
<>n\ict  their  Tweeds,  McManeses,  But 

Shrpht-rdN,  and  «-\.n  th.-n  tin  \  ni.i\  t'.»r^i\.  th.in 
and  talk  of  monuments  to  tin  ir  pnrious  memory, 
but  th.-y  take  (Mi^ht  in  the  defeat  of  John  Wana- 
maker  because  they  suspect  that  he  is  a  hyporrit. 
and  wants  to  go  to  the  United  State*  Senate. 
All  the  stout-heart i  icrs  had  made  a 


226  THE  SHAME  OF  Till  (ITIKS 
paign  to  re-elect  Rothermcl,  the  District  Attorney 
who  had  dared  to  try  Quay.  Surely  there  was  an 
official  to  support  !  But  no,  Quay  was  against 
him.  Tin  reformers  used  money,  some  $250,000,  I 
believe, — fighting  the  devil  with  fire, — but  the  ma- 
chine used  more  money,  $700,000,  from  the  teach- 
ers, "  speak-easies,"  office  holders,  hankers,  and 
corporations.  The  machine  handled  the  ballots. 
Rothermel  was  beaten  by  John  Weaver.  There 
have  been  other  campaigns,  before  and  since,  1.  <1 
by  the  Municipal  League,  which  is  managed  with 
political  sense,  but  each  successive  defeat  was  by  a 
larger  majority  for  the  machine. 

There  is  no  check  upon  this  machine  excepting 
the  chance  of  a  mistake,  the  imminent  fear  of 
treachery,  and  the  remote  danger  of  revolt.  To 
meet  this  last,  the  machine,  as  a  State  organ  i/a- 
tion,  has  set  about  throttling  public  criticism. 
Ashbridge  found  that  blackmail  was  ineffective. 
Durham,  Quay,  and  Governor  Pcnnypacker  have 
passed  a  libel  law  which  meant  to  mu//le 
the  press.  The  Governor  was  actuated  apparently 
only  by  his  sufferings  from  cartoons  and  comments 
during  his  campaign ;  the  Philadelphia  ring  has 
boodling  plans  ahead  which  exposure  might  make 
exasperating  to  the  people.  The  Philadelphia 
Press,  the  leading  Republican  organ  in  the  State, 
puts  it  right :  "  The  Governor  wanted  it  [the  law] 


rillLADKU'iiiA    (ONTENTED     tf7 
be  hope  of  reaping  from  tin-  unescapable  car- 
toon.    The  gang  wanted  it   in  hope  of  munling 
the  opposition  to  job*.  The  act  is  du- 

ly designed  to  gag  the  pip*  in  the  interest  of 
plunderers  and  against   the  interest   of  the 

peoplr." 

Disfranchised*  without  a  choice  of  parties;  de- 
nied, so  tin-  Municipal  1  .<  ague  declare*,  the  ancient 
ritf!  i ;  and  now  to  lose  **  free  spec< 

is  there  no  hope  for  Philadelphia?  Yes,  the  Phila- 
delphians  have  a  very  present  hope.  It  is  in  their 
new  mayor,  John  \\  r.  There  is  nothing  in  his 
record  to  inspire  faith  in  an  outsider.  He  speaks 
f'  two  notorious  **  •  ige*  of  jus- 

"  during  his  term  as  1)  >rocy;hewas 

ominec  of  the  rin^;  and  the  ring  men  have 
confid.  m,  in  him.  But  so  have  the  people,  and 
Mr.  V  makes  fair  promises.  So  did  Ash- 

There  is  this  difference,  however:  Mr. 
Weaver  has  made  a  good  start .  Hi-  compromised 
with  tin-  machine  on  his  appoint  men  U,  but  he 
declared  again>t  t)u>  protection  of  vice,  for  free 
ig,  and  he  stopped  some  "  wholesale  grabs" 
or  *'  mares "  that  appeared  in  the  Legislature, 
just  before  he  took  office. 

One  was  a  hill  to  rriahlr  (rin^)  comp.mus  to 
44  appropriate,  take,  and  use  all  water  within  this 
commonwealth  and  belonging  cither  to  public  or 


228     Tin;  MIAMI;  OF  THE  CITIES 

to  private  persons  as  it  may  require  for  its 
private  purposes."  This  was  a  scheme  to  srll 
out  the  wain-  \\«>rU  <>f  Philadelphia,  and  all 
other  Mich  plants  in  the  State.  Another  bill  \v.is 
to  open  the  way  to  a  seizure  of  tlu  li^lit  ami 
power  of  the  city  and  of  the  State.  Mail  in  and 
Warwick  "leased"  tin  city  gas  works.  Durham 
and  his  croud  wanted  a  whack  at  it.  "  It  shall 
be  lawful,"  the  bill  read,  "for  any  city,  toun, 
or  borough  owning  any  gas  works  or  electric 
light  plant  for  supplying  light,  heat,  and  power, 
to  sell,  lease,  or  otherwix-  <li>}><»e  of  the  same  to 
individuals  or  corporations,  and  in  order  to  ob- 
tain the  best  possible  returns  therefor,  such  mu- 
nicipal body  may  .  .  .  vest  in  the  lessees  or 
purchasers  the  exclusive  right,  both  as  against 
such  municipal  corporations  and  against  any 
and  all  other  persons  and  corporations,  to  supply 
gas  or  electricity.  .  .  ."  As  in  St.  Louis,  tin- 
public  property  of  the  city  is  to  be  sold  off. 
These  schemes  arc  to  go  through  later,  I  am 
told,  but  on  Mr.  Weaver's  declarations  that  he 
would  not  "  stand  for  them,"  they  were  laid  over. 
It  looks  as  if  the  Philadelphians  were  right 
about  Mr.  Weaver,  but  what  if  they  are?  Think 
of  a  city  putting  its  whole  faith  in  one  man,  in 
the  hope  that  John  Weaver,  an  Englishman  by 
birth,  will  give  them  good  government!  And 


rim  \ni.i mi  \    (  n\  i  i  \  1 1  i) 

»l.v   should  he  do  that?     Whj  should  be 

:    not    th«-    rinx'     Th«-    ring   can 

make  or  hrviik  him  ;  the  people  of  1'hil/ul. -Iphia  can 

i.-ward  n«»r  puinsh  him.     For  cvm  if  he 

n-ston--,    to    th.  in    thrir    h.ill«.K    .11.. I    j.t..\«-    h,n.».  If 

a  good  intivor.  In- 1  .umot  nuccctd  hinaclf ;  the  good 

«U  mon-  than  one  term. 


(  nil  IIAI.I    i  KI  i     \\D 

i  K.ii  n\G  ON 


CHICAGO     HALF  FREE  AND  FIGHT- 
iNc,    ON 

October.  (1903). 

Win i  i   thc.se  articles  on  municipal  corruption  were 
appearing,  readers  of  them  were  writing  to  the 

asking  what  they,  a*  cit 

almiit  it  all.   As  if  I  knew;  a*  if  **  we  "  knew  ;  a*  if 
>y  one  way  to  deal  with  this  prohN  m  in 
all  places  und  iistances.    Th.  r. -i^n't. 

ouiid  with  a   ready-made  n-fo  -m 
tchciiK    in  tin  hark  of  inv  hr.nl,  it  would  haxe  • 
'••in  seeing  straight  the  facts 
I  not  support  mv  tlu-orv.     Tin-  onlv  •  <i!torial 
.schi-mc  we  hud  \s:is  to  stuHv  a  tVw  choice  exampl,-* 

nd  tell  how   the  bad  wa* 
•uplisheil,  then  s,-«-k  out,  here  and  abroad,  some 

^ood   governments    and    -  how    the 

good  wa*  done; — not  how  to  do  it,  mind  you,  hut 
how  it  had  IP  Though  the  bad  government 

8   so   nianv   good 

men  apparently   want    to  go  to  work   right   off,  it 
wa«  derld<  d  to  pause  for  an  instance  on  the  nt'orm 
I  l»e  best  I  have  found.     Politi- 

cal grafters  have  been  cheerful  enough  to  tell  me 


THE  SHAME  OF  TIIK  (ITIKS 
they  have  "  got  lots  of  pointers  "  from  the  cor- 
ruption  article^.      I  trust   the   n  formers   \\ill   pick 
up  some  "  pointers  "  from — Chicago. 

"i  s,  Chicago.  First  in  violence,  deepest  in  dirt  ; 
loud,  lawless,  unlovely,  ill-smelling,  irreverent,  new; 
an  overgrown  gawk  of  a  village,  the  "  tough  " 
among  cities,  a  spectacle  for  the  nation; — I  give 
Chicago  no  quarter  and  Chicago  asks  for  none. 
"  Good,"  they  cheer,  when  you  find  fault ;  "  give  us 
the  gaff.  We  deserve  it  and  it  does  us  good." 
They  do  deserve  it.  Lying  low  beside  a  great  lake 
of  pure,  cold  water,  the  city  has  neither  enough 
nor  good  enough  water.  With  the  ingenuity  and 
will  to  turn  their  sewer,  the  Chicago  River,  and 
make  it  run  backwards  and  upwards  out  of  the 
Lake,  the  city  cannot  solve  the  smoke  nuisance. 
With  resources  for  a  magnificent  system  of  public 
parking,  it  is  too  poor  to  pave  and  clean  the  streets. 
They  can  balance  high  buildings  on  rafts  floating 
in  mud,  but  they  can't  quench  the  stench  of  the 
stockyards.  The  enterprise  which  carried  through 
a  World's  Fair  to  a  world's  triumph  is  satisfied 
with  two  thousand  five  hundred  policemen  for  two 
million  inhabitants  and  one  hundred  and  ninety-six 
square  miles  of  territory,  a  force  so  insufficient 
(and  inefficient)  that  it  cannot  protect  itself,  to  say 
nothing  of  handling  mobs,  riotous  strikers,  and  the 
rest  of  that  lawlessness  which  disgraces  Chicago. 


CHICAGO    n  \i  I    i  UEE  H6 

I  lias  an  extra-legal  system  of  cott- 

"hicli    i*  10  Cffec* 

a*  been  able  to  stop  any   pra« 

luii  turiird  hi*  fnce — the  **  panel 
ganu.  »ine  rooms,"  "safe 

hl..win^";     though    gambling    i*    limit.. I,    regu- 
«l  fair,  and  prostitution  onlrrlv  ;  though, 
in    slmit,    tliniii^li    tin-    IMIWIT  of   cvrtain    |>ol 
.mil  criminal  leaden — tbe  major  ha*  been  alii*    to 
make-   i  •  riniiiially  »|x-akiii^f  **  honest  ** — 

;.  I    Imlil  ups  are  tolerated.     AM 
govcrmiM  nt,  all  tlii-  U  preposterous. 

But  I  do  not  cit«>  Chicago  a«  an  example  of 

good     municipal     govrrnim -nt .  of    good 

i   municipal  governmrnt  .    \         \  ork  has, 

tlu     mom. nt,    a    much    Ixtt.r    adiniiiiNt  rat  ion. 

Hut    in  it  In  r        '         igo  a  good  example  of  bad 

niim-nt.        I  '  ini;   there,  hut 

St.   Louis  it  seems  petty  and  at1        I1 
most  unprofessional.     Chicago  is  interesting  for 
thr  things  it  has  "fivl."     What   i,  wrong  t 

•  liculous.      Politically    and    morally   speaking, 

<        igo   should   be    celebrated   among   American 

•   mil,    nal    n  form,   not    moral  fits  and 

uprisings,   not    r.  form   waves  that  wash 

tli>    "  I..  ,t    i  into  office  to  make  fools  of 

themselves     and     subside     leaving     the    machine 

iger  than   « \ «  i .  —  none   of   these  aristocratic 


THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

disappointments  of  popular  ^ovennnent,  hut  re- 
form that  reforms,  xl,m,  sure,  political,  democrat  ie 
i.  t'orm,  hy  tin*  propl.  ,  for  the  people.  That  is 
what  Chicago  has.  It  has  found  a  way.  I  don't 
know  that  it  is  the  way.  All  that  I  am  sure  of  is 
that  Chicago  has  something  to  teach  every  city 
and  town  in  the  country — including  Chicago. 

For  Chicago  is  reformed  only  in  spots.  A 
political  map  of  the  city  would  show  a  central 
circle  of  white  with  a  few  white  dots  and  dashes 
on  a  background  of  black,  gray,  and  yellow.  But 
the  city  once  was  pretty  solid  black.  Criminally 
it  was  wide  open;  commercially  it  was  bra/'-n  ; 
socially  it  was  thoughtless  and  raw  ;  it  was  a  settle- 
ment of  individuals  and  groups  and  interests  with 
no  common  city  sense  and  no  political  conscience. 
Everybody  was  for  himself,  none  was  for  Cliicago. 
There  were  political  parties,  but  the  organiza- 
tions were  controlled  by  rings,  which  in  turn  wvre 
parts  of  State  rings,  which  in  turn  were  backed 
and  used  by  leading  business  interests  through 
which  this  corrupt  and  corrupting  system  reached 
with  its  ramifications  far  and  high  and  low  into 
the  social  organization.  The  grafting  was  mis- 
cellaneous and  very  general;  but  the  most  open 
corruption  was  that  which  centered  in  the  City 
Council.  It  never  was  well  organized  and  orderly. 
The  aldermen  had  "  combines,"  leaders,  and  prices, 


CHICAGO:  HALJ    i  i;i  i. 

•  f  good-natured  hornet   thieves,  they 
wen-  lut  of  party  bosses  and  "  the  or^ 

MS,"    which    w.iv   lumjr   at   Uieir  own   graft. 
Tlu  v    wi-n-    s,i    uiil. IIMIM  *slik«-    lli.it     bwbMM    I'M  ii 

into  t!:.    <          i         .-il  to  reduce  the  fc*' 
<>f   hlackmail   to  decent   and   systematic   bribery. 

Tht^r   men    ll'-lp«d    matt.  IN    MIIIH  .   lint    tin     Ii:i|t|>\     ^o- 

luckv   spirit    p.  rxistiil  until   tin-  ailvt-nt   of  <  I  writ-it 

I      ^  ->in  Phil. ••!«  Iplii/i,  who,  with  liin  lar^t* 

!     I*.  i:ii>\  !\  .uiia    iiirtliofl*..    first    uia«k' 

boodling  a  serious  husinest.     He  had  to  go  ri^M 

into   ,  to  get  anything  done.     But 

he  did  get  thing*  done.     The  aldermanic  comlmu- 

was  fast  selling  out  the  cit  v  to  its  "  best  citizens" 

«!M  ii  some  decent  IIHH  >|xike  up  and  calle<l  upon 

•o  stop  it,  the  people  who  alone  can 

•ncli  things. 

licago  stopp.  .1    it  ;   they 

have  beaten   boodling.     That   is   about   all    tin  v 
done  so  far,  hut  that  is  about  all  they  have 
\    and  systematically   to  do,  and 
•A  iv  tin  v  h.ivt-  clom-  that  proves  that  they  can 
do   an  v  tiling    they   set  out   to  do.     They    v 
about  the  n--  ,  they  are  not  half  s 

fied  and   not    half   done.     But  boodling,  with  its 
:titf   of   "  hijr    ,n,. i)  "    and    "  hitf    intm-st^. 
liardest  evil  a  democracy  has  to  fight,  and  a 
people  who  can  beat  it  can  beat  anything. 


2:JS      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

Every  comimmit  v,  city,  town,  village,  State — 
thr  1'nited  States  itself — has  a  certain  nimil>.-r  <>f 
men  ulio  an-  willing,  if  it  doesn't  cost  anything, 
l«»  \ote  right.  They  don't  want  to  "hurt  their 
hii.Miiess";  they  "can't  afford  tin  time  to  go  to 
the  primaries";  they  don't  care  to  think  much. 
But  they  will  vote.  This  may  not  be  much,  hut 
it  is  enough.  All  that  this  independent,  non- 
partisan  vote  wants  is  leadership,  and  that  is 
what  the  Chicago  reformers  furnished. 

They  had  no  such  definite  idea  when  they  began. 
They  had  no  theory  at  all — nothing  but  wrath, 
experience,  common  Chicago  sense,  and  news- 
papers ready  to  back  reform,  not  for  the  news, 
but  for  the  common  good.  Theories  they  had 
tried;  and  exposures,  celebrated  trials,  even  some 
convictions  of  boodlers.  They  had  gone  in  for  a 
civil-service  reform  law,  and,  by  the  way,  they  got 
a  good  one,  probably  the  best  in  any  city  in  the 
country.  But  exposes  are  good  only  for  one  elec- 
tion; court  trials  may  punish  individuals,  but 
even  convictions  do  not  break  up  a  corrupt  system ; 
and  a  "reform  law"  without  reform  citizenship 
is  like  a  ship  without  a  crew.  With  all  their 
"  reforms,"  bad  government  persisted.  There 
was  that  bear  garden — the  City  Council;  some- 
thing ought  to  be  done  to  that.  Men  like  William 
Kent,  John  H.  Hamline,  W.  R.  Manierre,  A.  W. 


(  III.    \(,M     HAM     1  KM. 

M  K    M.-iiin  luui  gone  in  - 

'  respectable"  wards,  and  their  prea- 

cncc    proved    that    they    could    get    there;    their 

speeches    were    puhlic    protests,  and    their    vote*, 

."     were    plain     indicator*    of 

wronjj.      Hut  all  thi-»  wiu  not  enough.     The  < 

Fed«  i  respectable  hut    m«  ffi«  .•  i.t   universal 

ining  association,  nut   without    plans  in   1895. 

It     .-.-ill,  •!    together    two    hinulr.  <l    representative 

i    I. MM;  M-  at    their  head,  to  a  do 

•onu-tli  Th.    tun  hundred  appointed  a  < 

mitt  find  M>n  One 

of  t:  p  tin  \\    forth  a  fullv  «Iniwn  plan  for 

a    new     municipal     party,    the    old,    old    scheme* 

'•That   won't  do,"  said  Edwin   Burritt   Smith   to 

M      Gage,  who  sat  beside  him.     -  No,  that  won't 

do,"  ».igo.     But   th.y  didn't   know  whnt   to 

do.     To  gain  tim<    Mi     Smith  moved  a  sub-corn- 

mitt.          1        sub-committee  reported  back  to  the 

M,    th.-   fit't..  n    to    the-   two  hundr  d  so, 

-mith  said,  th.  v  »•  fuinhl- 

Hut    not  in-   what    tlu-y   didn't  do.      Fumhlers  as 

i.  y   diiln't    talk   of  more  exposures. 

"I  havens,   we   know   en<>  ^aid   one.     They 

didn't  go  to  the   Legislature-  for  a  new  charter. 

needed  one,  th.  y  n.-od  one  to-day,  and  badly, 

too,  hut    the  men   who  didn't    know  what,  but  did 

know  what  not  to  do,  wouldn't   let  them  commit 


240      THK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

tin-  folly  of  asking  one  corrupt  legislature  to 
legislate  another  corrupt  legislature  out  of  exist- 
ence. And  they  didn't  wait  till  tin-  next  ma\or- 
.  alty  election  to  c-lrct  a  "business  mayor"  uho 
should  give  them  good  government. 

They  were  bound  to  accept  the  situation  ju^t 
as  it  was — the  laws,  the  conditions,  the  political 
circumstances,  all  exactly  as  they  were — and,  just 
as  a  politician  would,  go  into  the  next  fight  what- 
ever it  was  and  fight.  All  they  needed  was  a 
fighter.  So  it  was  moved  to  find  a  man,  one  man, 
and  let  this  man  find  eight  other  men,  who  should 
organize  the  "  Municipal  Voters'  League."  Th 
were  no  instructions;  the  very  name  was  chosen 
because  it  meant  nothing  and  might  mean  any- 
thing. 

But  the  man !  That  was  the  problem.  There 
were  men,  a  few,  but  the  one  man  is  always  hard 
to  find.  There  was  William  Kent,  rich,  young, 
afraid  of  nothing  and  always  ready,  but  he  was 
an  alderman,  and  the  wise  ones  declared  that  tin- 
Nine  must  not  only  be  disinterested,  but  must  ap- 
pear so.  William  Kent  wouldn't  do.  Others 
were  suggested ;  none  that  would  do. 

"  How  about  George  E.  Cole?  " 

"  Just  the  man,"  said  Mr.  Gage,  and  all  knew 
the  thought  was  an  inspiration. 

George  E.  Cole  described  himself  to  me  as  a 


(  II!  J!  Ml      I  1(1    1 

"  second-class  business  num.99  Standing  about  five 
feet  hi^h,  In  knows  he  U  no  taller;  hut  he  knows 
that  that  is  tall  enough.  Colo  U  a  fighter. 
Nobody  discovered  it,  perhaps,  till  lu-  wa«  pa>' 

li  vear.  Then  one  Martin  B.  Madden  found 
it  out.  Madden,  a  prominent  .  .»./.  n,  president 
of  the  Western  Stone  Company,  and  a  man  of 

|H»litii-al    pou.-r,    u/i^    <m,-   ,,f    t  h.     IMJM 


neat  men  who  went  into  the  Council  to  hring  order 
out  of  the  chaos  of  corruption.  He  was  a  Yerkes 
leader.  Madden  lix.-d  in  Cole's  ward  1  1  house 
was  in  sight  of  Cole's  house.  "  The  sight  of  it 
made  m<>  Imt,"  Miid  I  knew  what  it 

represented."  Cole  had  set  out  to  defeat  Madden, 
/mil  he  made  a  campaign  which  .>  !  tin- 

attention   of   the   whole   to\vn.     Madden  was   re- 
.1.  hut  Cole  had  proved  himself,  and  that  was 
what  made   Lyinan   J.   Gage  say   that  Cole  was 

IB.*1 

•    \<m  nune  to  me  as  a  Hobson's  (  said 

Mi.-  (oniinittee,  *'  as  a  sort  of  forlorn 
hope.  All  ri-l.t  ,"  !„•  added,  "  as  a  last  chance.  Til 
take  it  ." 

Cole  went  out  to  make  up  th.    Nine.     II    rhoae 

William   II.   Colvin,  a   wralthy   husiness  man,   re- 

:;  Kdwin  Hurritt  Smith,  puhlirist  and  lawyer; 

M    J.  Carroll,  ex-labor  leader,  ex-typesetter,  an 

•rial  writer  on  a  trade  journal  ;  Frank  Wells, 


1  UK  SHAME  OF  THE  ( nil  S 

a  well  knoun  n-;i!  e>tate  man;  K.  U.  Donnelly,  the 
lirad  of  one  of  the  greateM  printing  establish- 
ment* ;M  tin-  city;  and  Ilovt  King,  a  young  law- 
yer who  turned  out  to  be  a  natural  investigator. 
Tlies,-  made,  with  Cole  himself,  only  seven,  hut 
la-  had  tlu-  help  and  COUIIM  1  of  Kent,  Allen  H.  Pond, 
the  architect,  Judge  Murrn \  1'.  Tulcy,  Francis 
Lackner,  and  Graham  Taylor.  "  We  were  ju>t  a 
few  commonplace,  ordinary  men,"  said  one  of  them 
to  me,  "  and  there  is  your  encouragement  for 
other  commonplace,  ordinary  mm."  These  men 
were  selected  for  what  they  could  do,  however,  not 
for  what  they  "represented."  The  One  Hun- 
dred, which  the  Nine  were  to  complete,  was  to  do 
the  representing.  But  the  One  Hundred  never 
was  completed,  and  the  ward  committee,  a  feature 
of  the  first  campaign,  was  abandoned  later  on. 
"  The  boss  and  the  ring  "  was  the  model  of  the 
Nine,  only  they  did  not  know  it.  They  were  not 
thinking  of  principles  and  methods.  Work  was 
their  instinct  and  the  fighting  has  always  been 
thick.  The  next  election  was  to  he  held  in  April, 
and  by  the  time  they  were  ready  February  was 
half  over.  Since  it  was  to  be  an  election  of  alder- 
men, they  went  right  out  after  the  aldermen. 
There  were  sixty-eight  in  all — fifty-seven  of  them 
"  thieves,"  as  the  League  reported  promptly  and 
plainly.  Of  the  sixty-eight,  the  terms  of  thirty- 


(   II,  II  M.I      I  Kl    1 

four  were  e\j  md  these  all  were  likely  to 

come  up  for  re-election. 

I  tiling  to  do  was  to  beat  the  rascal*.  But 
how?  Mr.  Coli-  and  hU  committee  were  pioneer* ; 
they  had  to  blaic  the  way,  and,  without  plans, 
they  set  about  it  ilir.vtly.  Seeking  votes,  and 
hoocii  votes,  with  no  organization  to  depend  upon, 

hud  til  lm\r   piihlirit  \         "  \\  I  had  first  to  let 

people   know   we   were   there,**   said   Cole,  so  he 
stepped  "out   into  tin-  linn  li^ht  "  ami,  with  his 
*hort  legs  apart,  Inn  weak  eyes  blinking.  In-  ta. 
I        i  xv  us  out  to  beat  the  boodle  r*  up  for 

re-eld* t ion,   he   said,    with    much    |>irtun-M| 
lish.     Now  Chicago  is  willing   to  have  anybody 
•«»  do  anything  worth  while  in  Chicago;  no 
r  who  you  arc  or  where  you  come   from, 
•        itfo  will  give  you  a  cheer  and  a  first  boost. 
When,  t!  .  George  E.  Cole  stood  up  and 

said  he  and  a  quirt  littl.-  committee  were  going  to 
beat  some  politicians  at  the  game  of  politics,  the 
good-natured  town  said:  "All  rijjht,  ^o  ahead 
and  beat  'em ;  but  how?  "  Cole  was  ready  with  hU 
answt  i  \\Viv  tfoing  to  publish  the  records  of 
the  thieves  who  want  to  get  back  at  the  trough.9* 
AldinnaM  Kmt  and  his  decent  colleagues  pro- 
duced the  records  of  their  indrtvnt  colleagues,  and 
the  League  announced  that  of  the  thirty-four 
tig  aldermen,  twenty-six  were  rogues.  I  i 


244  THE  SI  I  AMI:  OF  THE  CITIES 
Kin;*  and  a  staff  of  briefless  young  lau  vn-x  looked 
up  ward  records,  and  k*  tin -xr  aUo  \\c  will  pub- 
lixh,"  said  Cole.  And  they  did;  the  Chicago  ne\\-x- 
papers,  long  on  the  right  side  and  «  \<  r  n-adv, 
printi-d  them,  and  they  were  "mighty  interesting 
reading."  Kdwin  Burritt  Smith  stated  the  facts; 
Cole  added  "  ginger,"  and  Kent  "  pepper  and  salt 
and  vinegar."  They  soon  had  publicity.  Some 
of  the  committee  shrank  from  the  worst  of  it,  hut 
Cole  stood  out  and  took  it.  He  became  a  char- 
acter in  the  town.  He  was  photographed  and 
caricatured;  he  was  "  Boss  Cole  "  and  "  Old  King 
Cole,"  but  all  was  grist  to  this  reform  mill.  Some 
of  the  retiring  aldermen  retired  at  once.  Others 
were  retired.  If  information  turned  up  by  Hoyt 
King  was  too  private  for  publication,  the  com- 
mittee was,  and  is  to-day,  capable  of  sending  for 
the  candidate  and  advising  him  to  get  off  the 
ticket.  This  was  called  "blackmail,"  and  I  will 
call  it  that,  if  the  word  will  help  anybody  to  ap- 
preciate how  hard  these  reform  politicians  played 
and  play  the  game. 

While  they  were  talking,  however,  they  were 
working,  and  their  work  was  done  in  the  wards. 
Each  ward  was  separately  studied,  the  politics  of 
each  was  separately  understood,  and  separately 
each  ward  was  fought.  Declaring  only  for  "  ag- 
gressive honesty  "  at  first,  not  competence,  they 


i  iin  100    n  \i  i    i  KI  i 

did  not  stirk  iv.  I  It.)  beat 

iM.iN  tlmt  wen-  in,  uoccssar) 

r.Mildn't  tape  to  elect  an  honest  man,  they  helped 
a  lik»  Iv  rnnrul  to  beat  the  raical  that  was  in  and 
known.  They  drew  up  a  pledge  of  loyalty  to 
public  interest,  hut  th.  \  didn't  insist  on  it  in  some 
CMtti.  1  •  the  politicians,  they  were  oppor- 
tunist N.  l.ik.  th«-  politicians,  too,  they  were  non- 
siuih.  They  played  off  one  party  against 
anutliri.  nr,  if  tin-  tu«>  organization*  hung  to- 
^'  tl  .  put  up  an  independent.  They  broke 

many  a  flu  ri-li.  .1    r.-fonn    prinriplr,  hut    f.-w 

.t-iil  polit  Thug,  while  they  had  tome 

of  tin  ir  own  sort  of  men  noininat.il,  they  did  not 
atti-inpt.  th.\    did  not    think  of  running  M  Ktpect- 
ahlr  "  or  "  husinrss  "  candidate*  as  iuch.     Neitlu-r 
th.-v  afraid  to  dick.-r  uith  ward  leaden  and 
nipt    politicians."  .    w.-nt   down   into  tin- 

ward,  urged   th.    minority  organization   lead- 
name  a  M  good   man,"   on    promise  of   ind.  p<  nd.-nt 

support,  thin  cainptiigned  against  the  majority 
iioininiv  with  <-irculars,  house-to-house  canvassers, 
mass-meetings,  bands,  speakers,  and  parades.  I 

should   say    that    tin-   hasir   unstated    principle  of 

•  nn    inov.  in.nt,    struck    out    <  the 

iraj  to  l.-t  the  iM)liticians  rule, 

hut  through  better  and  h  u  whom  the  Nine 

forced  upon  them  with  puhlic  opinion.     But  again 


246      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

I  uant  to  cmphasi/r  tin-  fad  that  they  had  no  fine- 
spun theories  and  no  definite  principles  beyond 
that  of  bring  always  for  tin-  best  available  man. 
They  were  with  tin-  Democrats  in  one  ward,  with 
the  Hi-publicans  in  another,  but  in  none  were  tiny 
res  prefers  of  persons. 

Right  here  appeared  that  insidious  influenc.- 
which  we  have  seen  defeating  or  opposing  reform 
in  other  cities — the  interference  of  iv^p.-etahle 
men  to  save  their  friends.  In  the  Twenty -si  cond 
Ward  the  Democrats  nominated  a  director  (  m>w 
deceased)  of  the  First  National  Bank  and  a  promi- 
nent man  socially  and  financially.  John  Col v in, 
one  of  the  "  Big  Four,"  a  politician  who  had 
gone  away  rich  to  Europe  and  was  returning  to  go 
back  into  politics,  also  was  running.  The  League 
preferred  John  Maynard  Harlan,  a  son  of  Jus- 
tice Harlan,  and  they  elected  him.  The  bank  of 
which  the  respectable  Democratic  candidate  was 
a  director  was  the  bank  of  which  Lyman  J.  Gage, 
of  the  League,  was  president.  All  that  the 
League  had  against  this  man  was  that  he  was  tin 
proprietor  of  a  house  leased  for  questionable  pur- 
poses, and  his  friends,  including  Mr.  Gage,  were 
highly  indignant.  Mr.  Gage  pleaded  and  pro- 
tested. The  committee  was  "  sick  of  pulls  "  and 
they  made  short  work  of  this  most  "  respectable  " 
pull.  They  had  "  turned  down "  politicians  on 


(  IN.  vdo    ii  \i  i    i  itr.i: 

no  I)  .  ami  tl>.  itl  thejr  were  not 

X  to  overlook   in   tin-  friend  of  thc-ir  friends 

y  ^MMJag^fd  in  tome  poor  devil  who  had 

There  were  many  such  cases,  then  and  lit* 

tiling  IIAJI  never  ceased  ami  it  never 

w  ill  c.  a--  i  iiiiiht  always  **  go  too  far,"  if  it 

is  to  go  at  all.  for  it  is  up  then-  in  tin-  "  ton 

corruption  has  iU  Mxiree.      I        I 

rlv,  and  "sj>ottintf  it,"  a*  Mr.  Col.- 
said,  not  only  diftcouragr<l  Mich  .  hut 

fixed  its  own  ul  won  public  confidence. 

\  tliin^  in  those  days  was  open.  The 
League  works  mon  ipii.  tl\  now,  hut  tin  n  Cole  was 
talking  it  all  out,  plain  to  the  verge  of  bnitalitv, 

til*-  to  tin-   limit  of  language,  and  honest    to 
uttrr    nitlilrssness.      Hr    hlundi-ml    ami    they    all 
made  mistakes,  hut  their  hhuuK -rin^  (>ril 
tluin,   for   whili-   tin-  rrrors  were  |  ror>,  tin- 

u«88   of   mind    that    rejected   an    Edward    M 

A.xxl,  t'.-i-  «  \  a  in  pic,  was  plain  too.     Stanwood, 
a  respeetable  husiness  man,  had  served  as  alderman, 
hut    his    r«  c  K(  tion   was  advised  against  by    tin- 
League  been  i :  t,d   with   tlu-  ^ 
A   high   public  official,   thnr  judges,  and  se\ 
oth.-r   promiiu-iit    MM  M    iiitrrccded  on  the  ground 
i  v  instancr  where  he  is  charged  with 
•ig  voted  for  a  so-called  boodle  ordinance,  it 


248  THE  SIIA.Mi:  <>T  THE  CITIES 
was  not  done  corruptly,  but  thai  In-  mi^ht  secure 
\oles  for  some  meritorious  measure."  Tin-  League 
answered  in  this  style:  "We  regard  Ihis  di  -fin-.  , 
which  is  put  forward  with  confidence  by  men  of 
your  standing,  as  painful  evidence  of  tin  low 
standard  by  which  the  public  conduct  of  city 
officials  has  come  to  be  measured  by  ^,>od  citi/ens. 
Do  you  not  know  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  in 
sidious  and  common  forms  of  legislative  corrup- 
tion?" Mr.  Stanwood  was  defeated. 

The  League  "  made  good."  Of  the  twenty 
outgoing  aldermen  with  bad  record-,  sixteen  were 
not  renominated.  Of  the  ten  who  were,  four  were 
beaten  at  the  polls.  The  League's  recommenda- 
tions were  followed  in  twenty -five  wards;  they  Wttt 
disregarded  in  five;  in  some  wards  no  fight  was 
made. 

A  victory  so  extraordinary  would  have  satisfied 
some  reformers.  Others  would  have  been  inflated 
by  it  and  ruined.  These  men  became  canny. 
They  chose  this  propitious  moment  to  get  rid  of 
the  committee  of  One  Hundred  respectables. 
Such  a  body  is  all  very  well  to  launch  a  reform, 
when  no  one  knows  that  it  is  going  to  do  serious 
work;  but,  as  the  Cole  committee  had  learned, 
representative  men  with  many  interests  can  be 
reached.  The  little  committee  incorporated  the 
League,  then  called  together  the  big  committee, 


(  UK   A(i():    II  \i.l     1  KM. 

congratulated  it,  and  proposed  a  comtir. 

by-laws  which  won  1.1  throw  all  »h«   work — and  all 

jKjwcr — to  the  little  committee.     The   little- 

committee  was  to  call  on  the  big  commit  trr  only 

a*  money  or  tome  "  really  important  "  help  was 

needed.     The  big  committee  approved,  swelled  up, 

.1,  and  that  is  the  last  timr  it  1ms  ever 

'1 1ms  free  of  "  pulk"  gentlemanly  pulls,  but 
pull*  just  the  Minir,  tin-  ••  nine"  became  nine  by 
adding  two-  A IN-n  H.  Pond  and  Francis  La< 
— and  prepared  for  th«-  n«  \t  campaign.  Their 
aldrrmcn,  the  u  reform  crowd,'*  in  tin  City  Coun- 
too  few  to  do  anything  alonr,  but  they 
could  protest,  and  they  did.  They  adopted  the 
system  of  William  Kmt.  which  WILH  to  find  out 
what  was  going  on  and  t«  11  it  in  Council  meetings. 

"  It    \ou  go  on  giving  away  the  people's  fi 

k"     Aldrnnan     Marian    would    say, 

i  may  wake  up  some  morning  to  find  street 

lamps  are  useful  for  other  purposes  than  1 

ing  the  streets."     Or,  "Some  night  thr  citizen*, 

who  arc  watching  you,  may  come  down  here  from 

the  galleries  with  pieces  of  hemp  in  thrir  hands." 

.  he  would  picture  an  imagined  scene  of  the 

galleries  rising  and  coming  down  upon  the  floor. 

Mr  made  his  descriptions  so  vivid  and  creepy  that 

they  made  some  aldermen  fidgrt      -  I  don't  like  dis 


<~'><)      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
business  all  about  street  lamps  and  hemp — vot  dot 
is?"   said   a   German   boodler   one    night.     "We 
don't  come  here  for  no  such  a  business.* 

"  We  meant  only  to  make  head  lines  for  the 
papers,"  said  one  of  the  reform  aldermen.  "  If 
we  could  keep  the  attention  of  the  public  upon  the 
Council  we  could  make  clear  what  was  going  on 
t lu-re,  and  that  would  put  meaning  into  our  next 
campaign.  And  we  certainly  did  fill  the  gal- 
leries and  the  newspapers." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  they  did  much 
more.  They  developed  in  that  year  the  NMH- 
which  has  dominated  Chicago  local  politics  e?Cf 
since — the  proper  compensation  to  the  city  for 
}  public  franchises.  These  valuable  rights  should 
not  be  given  away,  they  declared,  and  they  re- 
peated it  for  good  measures  as  well  as  bad.  Not 
only  must  the  city  be  paid,  but  public  convenience 
and  interest  must  be  safeguarded.  The  boodlers 
boodled  and  the  franchises  went  off;  the  protesta- 
tion hurried  the  rotten  business;  but  even  that 
haste  helped  the  cause.  For  the  sight,  week  after 
week,  of  the  boodle  raids  by  rapacious  capital 
fixed  public  opinion,  and  if  the  cry  raised  then  for 
municipal  ownership  ever  becomes  a  fact  in  Chi- 
cago, capital  can  go  back  to  those  days  and  blame 
itself. 

Most  of  the  early  Chicago  street  railway  fran- 


(  UK  \(,<.    ii A i  i    i  ur.i: 

chiscs  w»  irelcssly,  to  twenty-five  years 

fii  >t  .MI.  in  1858.  In  1883,  when  the  ear- 
liest f nine-hint*  might  have  been  terminated,  the 
Council  M  titured  to  pass  only  a  blanket  extension 
for  twenty  years — till  .July  SO,  1908.  This  was 
w«-ll  enough  for  Chicago  financiers,  hut  in  1886- 
87,  ^  frflm  appeared,  with  VVidener  and 
Klkins  behind  liim,  and  !><>ught  up  the  West  and 
-ulc  companies,  he  app!  nsylvania 

mrthod-..      He    pushed    hills    through    the    Legis- 
lature, saw  them  vetoed  by  Governor  Altg.ld,  set 
about  having  |,js  own  Governor  n«  \t  tinir,  find  in 
1897  got,  not  all  that  IK-  wuntrd  (for  the  people 
of   Illinois   are    not    like    tin    p<  <>pl«-   of    Pennsyl- 
vania), hut  thr  Allen  hill,  which  would  do — if  the 
i          i  .TO  City  Council  of  1S<)7  would  give  it  force. 
The  Municipal  Voters'  League  had  begun  iU 
second  campaign  in  December,  1896,  with  the  pub- 
«»n  of  the  records  of  tin  retiring  aldermen,  the 
second  half  of  the  old  body,  and,  though  this  was 
before    the    Allen    bill    was    passed,    Yerkes    was 
••e,  and  his  men  were  particularized.     As  the 
campaign  progressed  tin  -ringfield 

gave  it  point  and  local  developments  gave  it 
breadth.  It  was  a  mayoralty  year,  and  Alder- 
man John  M  Htrlnn  had  himself  nomi- 
nated on  an  i  IK  it  pendent,  non-partisan  ticket. 
"Bobbie"  Burkr,  the  Demo  o*s,  brought 


252      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

forward  Carter  H.  Harrison,  and  the  Kepu 
nominated  Judge  Nathaniel  C.  Scars.  Harrison 
at  that  time  was  known  only  as  the  son  of  his 
father.  Scars  was  a  fine  man ;  but  neither  of  tin  >o 
had  seized  the  street  railway  issue.  Mr.  Harl.m 
stood  on  that,  and  he  made  a  campaign  which  is 
talk rd  about  to  this  day  in  Chicago.  It  was  bril- 
liant. He  had  had  the  car  of  the  town  through 
tin  newspaper  reports  of  his  tirades  in  the  Coun- 
cil, and  the  people  went  to  hear  him  now  as  night 
after  night  he  arraigned,  not  the  bribed  legislators, 
but  the  rich  bribers.  Once  he  called  the  roll  of 
street  railway  directors  and  asked  each  what  he 
was  doing  while  his  business  was  being  boodled 
through  the  State  Legislature.  Earnest,  elo- 
quent, honest,  he  was  witty  too.  Yerkes  called 
him  an  ass.  "  If  Yerkes  will  consult  his  Bible," 
said  Harlan,  "  he  will  learn  that  great  things  have 
been  done  with  the  jaw-bone  of  an  ass."  This 
young  man  had  no  organization  (the  League  con- 
fined itself  to  the  aldermen )  ;  it  was  a  speaking 
campaign;  but  he  caught  the  spirit  of  Chicago, 
and  in  the  last  week  men  say  you  could  feel  the 
drift  of  sentiment  to  him.  Though  he  was  de- 
feated, he  got  70,000  votes,  10,000  more  than  the 
regular  Republican  candidate,  and  elected  Har- 
rison. And  his  campaign  not  only  phrased  the 
traction  issue  in  men's  minds;  it  is  said  to  have 


(   UK    \t,u      1!  \|  I      I  lil    I 

taught  young  Major  Harrison  the  me  of  it     At 

ariv   i  it,,   it       i^on  and  Chicago  have  been  aafe 
on  the  city'a 

The  League  also  won  on  it.     They  gave  bad 
recorcln   to   twenty-seven  of  the  thirty  four  out- 
going aldem  I  if  teen  were  not  rcnominafted. 
•  ••  who  ran  again,  nm.    were  beaten. 
This  victory  gave  them  a  solid  third  of  the  Coun- 
cil.    Tl;.     i.  t'-'i:  i    . -rowel    combined    with    Mayor 
•ison,  tlu-   I'n-sidi  Mt   of  the  Council,  and  his 
followers,  and  defeated  ordinances  introduced  to 
give  eff«                 rkes's  odious  Allen  law. 

1 1*  re  again  the  League  might  have  retired  in 

glory,  but  these  "  commonplace,  ordinary  men  " 

proposed  instead  that  they  go  ahead  and  get  a 

majority,  organi/i-  tin-  Council  on  a  non-partisan 

basis,   and   pass    from   a   n< .  anti-boodling 

policy  to  one  of  positive,  coi  i^islation. 

meant  also  to  advance  from  "  beating  bad 

>n  of  good  men,"  and  as  for 

the  good  HMD,  the  standard  was  to  be  raised  from 

mere  hom»tv  to  honesty  and  emV  .     With 

Midi   hi^h    purposes    in    virw,   tin-    Niru-   ui-ut    into 

tliir.l    r.-uiip.-ii^u.      Th«-v    had    to   condemn 

Him  tlu-y  had  recommendi-d  in  tln-ir  first   M  ar,  hut 

44  we   arc  always   ready   to  eat  dirt,"    t!..\    say. 

point,  el  to  tin-  !  -ailed  for  inni 

capable  of  coping  with  the  railways,  ami    with 


254      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

bands  playing,  orators  shouting,  and  Cole  roar- 
ing  like  a  sca-captaiu,  they  made  tin-  campaign  <>f 
1898  the  hottest  in  their  history.  It  nearly  killed 
some  of  them,  but  they  "  won  out  " ;  tlic  League 
had  a  nominal  majority  of  the  City  Council. 

Thru  came  thn'r  fir>t  bitter  disappointment. 
They  failed  to  organize  the  aldermen.  They  t  ri<  d, 
and  were  on  the  verge  of  success,  when  <l 
came,  a  most  significant  defeat.  The  League  had 
brought  into  political  life  some  new  men,  shop- 
keepers and  small  business  men,  all  with  perfVrt 
records,  or  none.  They  were  men  who  meant. 
well,  but  business  is  no  training  for  politics;  the 
shop-keepers  who  knew  how  to  resist  the  tempta- 
tions of  trade  were  untried  in  those  of  politics, 
and  the  boodle  gang  "  bowled  them  over  like  little 
tin  soldiers."  They  were  persuaded  that  it  was 
no  more  than  right  to  "let  the  dominant  party 
make  up  committees  and  run  the  Council  " ;  that 
was  "usage,"  and,  what  with  bribery,  •ophistry, 
and  flattery,  the  League  was  beaten  by  iN 
friends.  The  real  crisis  in  the  League  had  oome, 

Mr.  Cole  resigned.  He  took  the  view  that  the 
League  work  was  done;  it  could  do  no  more:  his 
health  was  suffering  and  his  business  was  going 
to  the  dogs.  The  big  corporations,  the  railroad-, 
great  business  houses  and  their  friends,  had  taken 
their  business  away  from  him.  But  this  boycott 


CHICAGO    HALF  FREE 

;M-^un  in  tl.r  fir»t  campaign  and  Cole  had  met 
it  iritfa  tl,  dtfhinitio,,  tlmt  he  didn't  "care  a 
d — n."  "  I  have  a  wife  and  a  boy/*  he  said. 
"  I  want  tlu-ir  n-jHt-t.  The  rest  can  all  go  to 
h — 1."  Cole  ha«  organiied  since  a  league  to 

in  tin-  I.,  -i^l.ittm  ,  hut  after  the  1898  cam- 
paign the  Niiu-  w  'ed,  (iiiii  Cole 
was  temporarily  used  up 

Thr    NIL,     hail    to   let  Cole   nill   ,\t    King  go. 

Hut   th.-y  wouldn't   l.-t   tl..    I  H   go.     Tlu  v   I....I 

no  successor  for  Cole.     None  on   the  comn 

would  take  his  place;  they  all  d. «  Im.-d  it   in  turn. 

They  looked  outside  for  a  man,  finding  nobody. 

I        prospect   was   dark.      Then    William    Kent 

•poke    up.      Kent    had    time    and    money,    hut     he 

wouldn't   do  anything  anyone  else  could  be  per- 

•  d.».     He  was  not  strong  physically,  and 

s  had  warned  him  that  to  li\e  he  must 

uork,    littlr  and   play   much.      At   that  moment   he 

was  under  orders  to  go  West  and  shoot.    Hut  when 

he  saw  what  was  happening,  he  said: 

•    I'm  not   tin    man  for  this  joh ;  I'm  no  organ- 
izer.    I  can  smash  more  things  in  a  minute  than 
:        -i    huild   up   in   a    hundred  years.     But   the 
League  has  got  to  go  on,  so  I'll  take  Cole's  place 
Til   ^i\i    me  a  hard-working,  able  man  for 
secretary,  an  organizer  and  a  master  of  detail." 
i-h  a  secretary  was  hard  to  find,  but  Allen  H. 


256     Tin-:  si i AMI:  OF  THE  CITIES 

Pond,  tlu-  arc-hit. rt,  a  man  madr  for  fine  work, 
took  this  rough-mid  tumble  task.  Ami  these  two 
with  tin-  committee  strengthened  ami  active,  not 
only  held  their  own,  they  not  only  met  the  raced 
ing  wave  of  reactionary  sentiment  against  reform, 
but  they  made  progress.  In  1899  they  won  a 
char  majority  of  the  Council,  pledged  their  men 
before  election  to  a  non-partisan  nr^ani/ation  of 
the  Council,  and  were  in  shape  for  constructive 
legislation.  In  1900  they  increased  their  ma- 
jority, but  they  did  not  think  it  necestarj  to  hind 
candidates  before  the  election  to  the  non-partisan- 
committees  plan,  and  the  Republicans  organ i/ed 
the  house.  This  party  maintained  the  standard 
of  the  committees;  there  was  no  falling  off  there, 
but  that  was  not  the  point.  Parties  were  recog- 
nized in  the  Council,  and  the  League  had  hoped 
for  only  one  line  of  demarcation:  special  inf 
versus  the  interests  of  the  city.  During  the  time 
of  Kent  and  Pond,  however,  the  power  for  good 
the  League  was  established,  the  question  of  its 
permanency  settled,  and  the  use  of  able,  OOO- 
scientious  aldermen  recognized.  The  public  opin- 
ion it  developed  and  pointed  held  the  Council  so 
steady  that,  with  Mayor  Harrison  and  his  personal 
following  among  the  Democrats  on  that  side,  the 
aldermen  refused  to  do  anything  for  the  street 
railway  companies  until  the  Allen  bill  was  repealed. 


(  mi  U30    II  U.I    l  lii  I  t57 

A  M.I,  all  ready  to  pan  Anything  at  Springfk-ld, 

<•*  had  to  permit  the  repeal,  and  he  toon 
doted  up  his  business  in  Chicago  and  went  away 
I          .11,  where  he  i*  laid  to  lx*  happy  ami  pros- 
perous. 

Th.    f-r-t  time  I  went  to  Chicago,  to  Me  what 
corruption  they  had,  I  found  there  was 
something  tin-  matter  with  the  jiolitirul  iimrhinery. 
«•  waji  the  normal  plan  of  government  for  a 
.    rings    with   bouse*,   and    grafting    Imsincw 
•.ind.       1'h.Iadelphia,     rituhurg,    St. 
!       \  arc  all  governed  on  such  a  plan.     But   in 
1         i  go  it   didn't   work.     "  Business "  was  at   a 
Uhll  and  imsinett  was  suffering.     What  was 
tin-   mattrrr       I    beleagurr<<l    tlu    political    Iraden 
with  questions:  "Why  dio'n't   the  pnlitirians  con- 
trol?    What    was    wrong    with    the    machines?** 
''  boss  "  defended  the  organizations,  blaming 
tli.    people.     "But  the  people  could  be  fooled  by 

capable    politician,"    I    drnmmd.      The    boss 

..-d     the     n-f«>rini-rs.  rs!w     I     ex- 

I  ii    some   of   your    reformers. 

v   aren't  different   from   reformers  elsewhere, 

they?"     "N  said,  well  pleased.     But 

I  conrluded  that  it  must  then  be  the  weakness 

of  the  Chicago  bosses,  his  pride  cried  out.    **  Say,** 

he    said,    "  have   you    seen    that    blankety -blank 


358      THE  SHAME  OF  TIIK  CITIES 

I  hadn't,  I  said.  "  Well,  you  want  to,"  lu  >aid. 
and  I  unit  straightway  and  saw  Fisher — Mr, 
Walter  L.  1  i-lnr,  secretary  of  tlu  Municipal 
Voters'  League.  Then  it  was  that  I  began  to 
understand  the  Chicago  political  situation.  l-'MuT 
was  a  reformer:  an  able  young  lawyer  of  inde- 
pendent mcan>,  a  mind  ripe  with  hi«rh 
and  ideals,  self-confident,  high-mindrd, 
He  showed  me  an  orderly  bureau  of  ind» -\< •(!  infor- 
mation, such  as  I  had  seen  before.  He  out  lime! 
the  scheme  of  the  Municipal  Voters'  League,  all  in 
a  bored,  polite,  familiar  way.  There  was  no  light 
in  him  nor  anything  new  or  vital  in  his  reform  as 
he  described  it.  It  was  all  incomprehensible  till  I 
asked  him  how  he  carried  the  Seventeenth  Ward,  a 
mixed  and  normally  Democratic  ward,  in  one  year 
for  a  Republican  by  some  1300  plurality,  the  next 
year  for  a  Democrat  by  some  1800,  the  third  for 
a  Republican  again.  His  face  lighted  up,  a  keen, 
>liifwd  look  came  into  his  eyes,  and  he  said:  "  I 
did  not  carry  that  ward;  its  own  people  did  it,  but 
I'll  tell  you  how  it  was  managed."  And  he  told 
me  a  story  that  was  politics.  I  asked  about  an- 
other ward,  and  he  told  me  the  story  of  that.  It 
was  entirely  different,  but  it,  too,  was  politics. 
Fisher  is  a  politician — with  the  education,  asso- 
ciations, and  the  idealism  of  the  reformers  who  fail, 
this  man  has  cunning,  courage,  tact,  and,  rarer 


(  Hit    UX)     H  Ml     I  111  I 
.still,   ruth    in   tin-   p  In  short,   refonn   in 

<  igo  has  such  a  fouler  as  <  >n  alone 
usually   has;  a  first-class  executive  mind  ami  a 
natural  manager  of  men. 

\N        ,  after  the  aldermanic  campaign  of  1900, 
Messrs.  Kent  and  Pond  resigned  as  president  and 
the    League's   executive   comin 

<  les  R.  Crane  and  Mr.  Fisher  succeeded  in  their 
4.     Mr.  Crane  is  a  man  with  an  international 

business,  which  taken  him  oft.  n  to  Russia,  but  he 
cornea  back  for  the  Chicago  aldermanic  campaigns. 

ivi «  the  game  to  Mr.  Fisher,  and  says  Fisher 
is  the  man,  but  Crane  is  a  backer  of  great  force 

»f  persistent  though  quiet  activity.     These 

two,  with  a  picked  committee  of  experienced  and 

!'  :ul,  K.  nt.  Smith,  Frank  H.  Scott, 

im    Taylor,    Siguuind   Zcisler,   and    Leasing 
Rosen  thai — took  the  League  as  an  established  in 
•stitution,    p>  its  system,  opened  a  head- 

quarters for  work  the  year  around;  and  this  force, 
political  genius,  has  made  a 

r  of  the  first  rank  in  practical  politics. 
1  r  mack-  fights  in  the  "  hopeless  "  wards,  and 
won  tin  in.  Id  has  raised  the  refonn  majority  in 
the  (  mil  to  two-thirds;  he  has  lifted  the 

standard  of  aldermen  from  honesty  to  a  gradually 
rising  scale  of  ability,  and  in  his  first  year  the 
Council  was  organized  on  a  non-partisan  basis. 


260      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

Tin's  f rat urc  of  municipal  n-form  is  ,  -stahli.shed 
now,  by  tin-  satisfaction  of  tin-  aldermen  them- 
selves with  the  way  it  works.  And  a  most  impor- 
tant feature  it  is,  too.  "  UY  have  four  shots  at 
•  very  man  headed  for  the  Council,"  said  one  of 
the  League — "om-  with  his  record  when  his  t» mi 
expires;  anotlx  r  wlu-n  hi-  is  up  for  the  nomina- 
tion; a  third  when  he  is  running  as  a  candidate; 
the  fourth  when  the  committees  are  formed.  I  f  he 
is  bad  he  is  put  on  a  minority  in  a  strong  com- 
mittee; if  he  is  doubtful,  with  a  weak  or  doubtful 
majority  on  an  important  committee  with  a  strong 
minority — a  minority  so  strong  that  they  can  let 
him  show  his  hand,  then  beat  him  with  a  minority 
report."  Careful  not  to  interfere  in  legislation, 
the  League  keeps  a  watch  on  every  move  in  the 
Council.  Cole  started  this.  He  used  to  sit  in 
the  gallery  every  meeting  night,  but  under  Crane 
and  Fisher,  an  assistant  secretary — first  Henry 
B.  Chamberlain,  now  George  C.  Sikes — has  fol- 
lowed the  daily  routine  of  committee  work  as  well 
as  the  final  meetings. 

Fisher  has  carried  the  early  practice  of  meet- 
ing politicians  on  their  own  ground  to  a  very 
practical  extreme.  When  tact  and  good  humor 
failed,  he  applied  force.  Thus,  when  he  set  about 
preparing  a  year  ahead  for  his  fights  in  unpromis- 
ing wards,  he  sent  to  the  ward  leaders  on  both 


(   III«    UM     II  \l  I      I  K!    I 
tide*  for  their  I  iptain-,  lieutenants,  and 

heelers.  They  refiiM-d,  with  expressions  of  aston- 
Mum-tit  at  I,  Mr.  Chamberlain  directed 

a  inodt  searching  iimittigatjo  wards,  pre- 

',   hi.*.!   by  block,  and  not  only 
(i     ridi    fund    <>f    infoniuition.    but    wo 
fri^htrn,  d    t|M-    |H>liti<  I.IIIH    who   heard   of   the    in- 
quiries that  many  of  them  came  around  and  gave 
up  tlu-ir  lists.      Whrthrr  HH-M-  lu-l|M-d  or  not,  how- 
wards  werr  stii<li«<i,  ami  it  was  by  such 
information  and  umk-riiiinin^  |>olitiral  work,  com- 
•li  skill  and  a  frjirleim  appeal  to  tlie  people 

of  thr  wnr.1,  that    I  1,,-at   ..lit   nith   HiiU-rt    \V. 

l*utl«-r  tin-  notorious  II  .  NViilf!*,  ;in  «\  State 
Treasurer,  in  the  ward  convention  of  WulfTs  own 
party,  and  thru  defeated  WultK,  who  ran  as  an 
independent,  at  the  polls. 

El  .fh   i  \|» u« nee  won   the  respect  of  the  poli- 
is   wdl   as   their   fear,  and   in    1902   and 
1903  the  worst  of  thrm,  «.r  the  best,  came  person- 
ally t  .  I          r  to  see  what  they  could  do.     He  was 
equal    in   "  thr  game  of  talk,"   tin  y    found, 
and  thrir  superior  in  tactics,  for  ^  « ould  not 

persuade  thrm  to  put  up  good  men  and  "play 
measured  himself  with  them  in  strategy. 
Thin  one  day  "Hilly**  Loefficr,  the  Democratic 
leader  in  the  Democratic  Ninth  Ward,  asked  Mr. 
Fisher  if  the  League  did  not  want  to  name  the 


262      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

Democratic  candidate  for  alderman  in  his  ward. 
Loeffler's  business  partner,  "  Hot  Stove"  Brenner, 
was  running  on  the  Republican  ticket  and  Fisher 
knew  that  the  Democratic  organization  would  pull 
for  Brenner.  But  Fisher  accepted  what  was  a 
challenge  to  political  play  and  suggested  Michael 
.1.  IVril).  Lot-filer  \\  I  at  the  name:  it  was 

new  to  him,  but  he  accepted  the  man  and  nomi- 
nated him.  The  Ninth  is  a  strong  Hebrew  ward. 
To  draw  off  the  Republican  and  Jewish  vote  from 
Brenner,  Fisher  procured  the  nomination  as  an 
independent  of  Jacob  Diamond,  a  popular  young 
Hebrew,  and  he  backed  him  too,  intending,  as  he 
told  both  Preib  and  Diamond,  to  prefer  in  the  end 
the  one  that  should  develop  the  greater  strength. 
Meanwhile  the  League  watched  Loeffler.  He  was 
quietly  throwing  his  support  from  Preib  to  Bren- 
ner. Five  days  before  election  it  was  clear  that, 
though  Diamond  had  developed  unexpected 
.strength,  Preib  was  stronger.  Fisher  went  to 
Loeffler  and  accused  him  of  not  doing  all  he  could 
for  Preib.  Loeffler  declared  he  was.  Fisher  pro- 
posed a  letter  from  Loeffler  to  his  personal  friends 
asking  them  to  vote  for  Preib.  Loeffler  hesitated, 
but  he  signed  one  that  Fisher  dictated.  Loeffler 
advised  the  publication  of  the  statement  in  the 
Jewish  papers,  and,  though  he  consented  to  have 
it  mailed  to  voters,  he  thought  it  "  an  unneces- 


<  IM<   100    HAU    i  m  i 

sary    cMx-nv  I  ^ot    back    to    the 

League  hca<)<  ,  he  nuhcd  off  copies  of  tin* 

through   tlu-  ntftiU  to  all  the  voter*  in  the 

warti.     It  une  Lodfcr  heard  of  thi-.  it  wai 

!•>   anything;   In-   tried,   lmt    he  never 
lit  up  with  thotr  litt.rv      His  partner,  I: 
,  was  defeated. 

A   jMilitiriaiir     A   !M>NS       «         1^0  has  in  Wal- 
I  islur  a    reform  IKMM,  and   in   the   Nine  of 
'  holers'  League,  with  tlu-ir  assort- 

ntnl  c<iitom  and  nhlc  finance  and  advisory  com- 
mit toes,  a  refunn  rin^.     They  have  no  roach im  , 
no    patronage,   no   power   that   they   can   abuse. 
•  even  a  IM  of  tl  n,     All  they 

have  is  the  confidence  of  the  anonymous  honest 
men  of  Chicago  who  care  more  for  Chicago  than 
for  anything  rNr.  Thi-  th«-y  have  won  by  a  long 
record  of  good  judgments,  honest,  obvious  devo- 
;«xxlt  and  a  disinterestedness 

uhich    has   a\ni«l.  «l    «-\vn    indiyidu  ';    not   a 

huiulrtd  UK  ii  in  the  city  could  name  the  Comn 

•     \;nr. 

\\  orking  wide  open  at  first,  when  it  was  neces- 
sary, tin  v    have  withdrawn  more  and  more  ever 

.  and  tlu  ir  policy  now  is  one  of  dignified  si' 
except  when  a  plain  statement  of  facts  is  rcqu 
th.  n  they  speak  as  the  League,  simply,  din 
but  with  human  feeling,  and  leave  their  following 


264      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

of  voters  to  act  with  or  a^aiu-t  them  as  they 
plcasc.  I  have  laid  great  stress  on  tin-  technical, 
political  skill  of  Fisher  and  the  Nine,  not  because 
that  is  their  chief  reliance;  it  isn't:  the  study 
the  enlightenment  of  public  opinion  is  their 
function  and  force.  But  other  reform  organ  i/a 
tions  have  tried  this  way.  These  refoniK  i  -  have, 
with  the  newspapers  and  the  aldermen,  not  only 
done  it  thoroughly  and  p«  i  ^stently ;  they  have  not 
only  developed  an  educated  citi/cnship;  they  have 
made  it  an  effective  force,  effective  in  legislation 
and  in  practical  politics.  In  short:  political  re- 
form, politically  conducted,  has  produced  reform 
politicians  working  for  the  reform  of  the  city  with 
the  methods  of  politics.  They  do  everything  that 
a  politician  does,  except  buy  votes  and  sell  them. 
They  play  politics  in  the  interest  of  the  city. 

And  what  has  the  city  got  out  of  it?  Many 
things,  but  at  least  one  great  spectacle  to  show 
the  world,  the  political  spectacle  of  the  year,  and 
it  is  still  going  on.  The  properly  accredited 
representatives  of  two  American  city  railway 
companies  are  meeting  in  the  open  with  a  regular 
committee  of  an  American  board  of  aldermen,  and 
they  are  negotiating  for  the  continuance  of  <  <  r 
tain  street  railway  franchises  on  terms  fair  both 
to  the  city  and  to  the  corporations,  without  a  whis- 
per of  bribery,  with  composure,  reasonableness, 


(  mi  \(,<»    HALF  FREE 
knowledge  (on  the  aldermen's  part,  long-«t 

and  almost  expert  knowledge);  with 
an  eye  to  the  future,  the  rail- 

ways, and  the  convenience  of  the  people  of  th. 

«•  in  an  American  city — in  Chicago ! 
Those  franchises  which  Y.-rk. 

red  on  July  SO.     There  was  a  dispute  about 

that,   ami    t  h«-    railways   were   prepared   to  fi^ht. 

One  is  a  Chicago  corporation   held  by   Chicago 

capital,   and    the   men    in    it    knew    th.-   condit 

The  other  belongs  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia 

capitalists,  whom  Ycrkes  got   to  hold   it    when   he 

gave  up  and  went  away;  they  couldn't  understand. 

1  ;n  "  capital   sent   picked  men  out    to 

(  "fi^ht."     One  of  the   items  said   to 

have  been  put   in  their  hill  of  appropriation  was 

use  in  Chicago— $1,000,000."     Their  local 

officers  and  directors  and  friends  warned  them  to 

Oow." 

Do  you  mean  to  tell  us,"  said  the  Easter r 
44  that  we  can't  do  in  Chicago  what  we  have  done 
in  Philadelphia.  \.  w  York,  and— 

44  That's  exactly  what  we  mean,"  was  the  anv 

Incredulous,   they   did  do  some  such   "  work  " 

They  had  the  broken  rings  with   them,  and   the 

44  busted  bosses,"  and  they  had  the  city  on  the  hip 

in  one  particular.     Though  the  franchises  expired, 

had  no  authority   in  law  to  take  over 


THE  si i. \ MI:  or  TIIK  CITIES 

th«  railways  and  had  to  get  it  from  Springfield. 
Tlu-  Republican  ring,  with  some  Democratic-  fol- 
lowing, had  organi/rcl  the  Legislature  on  ;u 
plicit  arrangement  that  "no  traction  legislation 
should  pass  in  1903."  The  railway*;  knew  they 
couldn't  get  any;  all  they  asked  was  that  the  city 
shouldn't  hayc  any  either.  It  was  a  political 
game,  but  Chicago  was  sure  that  two  could  play 
at  it.  Harrison  was  up  for  re-election ;  he  was 
right  on  traction.  The  Republicans  nominated  a 
business  man,  (Jraeme  Stewart,  who  also  p|,  - 
himself.  Then  they  all  went  to  Springfield,  and, 
with  the  whole  city  and  State  looking  on,  the  city's 
reform  politicians  beat  the  regulars.  The  city's 
bill  was  buried  in  committee,  but  to  make  a  show- 
ing for  Stewart  the  Republican  ring  had  to  pass 
some  sort  of  a  bill.  They  offered  a  poor  substi- 
tute. With  the  city  against  it,  the  Speaker 
"  gaveled  it  through  "  amid  a  scene  of  the  wildest. 
excitement.  He  passed  the  bill,  but  he  was  driven 
from  his  chair,  and  the  scandal  compelled  him  and 
the  ring  to  reconsider  that  bill  and  pass  the  city's 
own  enabling  act. 

Both  the  traction  companies  had  been  interested 
in  this  Springfield  fiasco;  they  had  been  working 
together,  but  the  local  capitalists  did  not  like  the 
business.  They  soon  offered  to  settle  separately, 
and  went  into  session  with  the  city's  lawyers, 


(  in.  U30    I!  \i  i    i  KI  i 

i:  ! 

Mai  II 

•illi  mi  "  .rk  lawyer,  Itad  to  ncgo- 

i      r  hrilli.uit   lawytr  undertook   to 

k    sense "     into    tl>.  ,     committee. 

I  ntittcc  had  been  out  visiting  nil  tin-  large 

Eastern    eiti.s,    studying    tl  »n    situations 

<>ii   tli.  ir  own  account  they  had  had 

drawn  for  them  one  of  the  most  complete  report* 

•  le    for   il    city    hy    an    •  \; 

kn- -w  the  law  and  the  finances  of  the  tnt< 

11  the  New  York  lawyer*. 

\\  tin  hrii:  I  h-ht  had  made 

•f  Ins  Miinnth,  i-lahoratc  speeches,  some  hard- 
headed  aid. -1111.111   would  ^.  t   up  and  say  that    h. 
**gntlirrr«l   and    ;  "    thus    and    >o    from    tin- 

last  sprakrr;  In-  wasn't  «|iiit«-  siin-,  hut   if  thu- 
so    \\.-ix    uhat    tin-   ^'  ntl.  mail    from    \«\\     \'«,rk    li.id 
tlnii  it  looki-d  to  him  like  toimn\ 
i\v\.i    \\ould   spin   anotlu-r  w«l>.  only   to  have 
some    oth.  r    (oiniiioiiplace-looking    alderman    tear 
it    t.»    pieces.      Those   lawyers   were   dum founded. 
>ed    to   see    Fish-  They    saw 

m  \ '" ti    n     N^   I.-oine,  if  you  wish,"  he  is  said  t«> 

have   said,   "  to    talk    foolishness,   but    I   advise 

it.      I   d»  not  speak  for  the  Coun- 

t-il.  hut   I   think  I   know  what  it  will  say  when  it 


s>(>s     TIM;  SIIA.MI;  or  THK  CITIES 

for  itself.  Thoxr  aldermen  know  their 
laziness.  They  know  sense  and  they  know  non- 
sense. They  can't  be  fooled.  If  you  go  at  tin  in 
with  reason  they  will  go  a  long  way  toward  helping 
you.  However,  you  shall  do  as  you  plea-M-  ah<>nt 
this.  But  let  me  burn  this  one  thing  in  upon  your 
consciousness:  Don't  try  money  on  them  or  any- 
body else.  They  will  listen  to  your  DonfttkM  with 
patience,  but  if  we  hear  of  you  trying  to  bribe  any- 
body— an  alderman  or  a  politician  or  a  newspaper 
or  a  reporter — all  negotiations  will  cease  instantly. 
And  nobody  will  attempt  to  blackmail  you,  no 
one." 

This  seems  to  me  to  be  the  highest  peak  of  re- 
form. Here  is  a  gentleman,  speaking  with  the  au- 
thority of  absolute  faith  and  knowledge,  assuring 
the  representatives  of  a  corporation  that  it  can 
have  all  that  is  due  it  from  a  body  of  aldermen  by 
the  expenditure  of  nothing  more  than  reason.  I 
have  heard  many  a  business  man  say  such  a  con- 
dition of  things  would  be  hailed  by  his  kind  with 
rejoicing.  How  do  they  like  it  in  Chicago?  They 
don't  like  it  at  all.  I  spent  one  whole  forenoon 
calling  on  the  presidents  of  banks,  great  business 
men,  and  financiers  interested  in  public  utility  com- 
panies. With  all  the  evidence  I  had  had  in  other 
places  that  these  men  are  the  chief  sources  of  cor- 
ruption, I  was  unprepared  for  the  sensation  of 


(   UK    \(,(»      I!  \l  I      I  Kl    I 
(lay.    Thofte  financial  leaders  of  Chicago  were 
"mad."     All  hut  out 

talked  that  tlu  v  rould  not  beliave  decently. 
They  roue  up,  purpl.   in  the  face,  and  cursed  re- 
fonn.     They  said  it  had  hurt  bu»incss;  it  had  hurt 
r,"tbty<  "  aocialuw." 

They  named  corporation*  il»/it  h.id  I. -ft  tin- 
named  other*  that  liad  planned  to  come  there 
ami  I-  i.l  gone  elsewhere.     They  offered  me  fart* 
and   figures   to    prove    that    tin    ,  ,ty    was  dam- 
u^i  d. 

"Hut    isn't    the    reform    council    honest? "    I 

I  lonest !     Yes,  but— oh,  h—  1 
44  And  do  you  realize  that  all  you  say  means  that 
you  regret  the  passing  of  Ixxxll.  and  would  prefer 
to  have  back  the  old  corrupt  Cmim -ilr  " 

it  brought  a  curse,  or  a  shrewd  Mnili,  or  a 
,d  lau^li,  hut  th.it  th.-v  r.-^r. -ttrd  the  passing 
of  the  boodle  rrjjiim-  is  the  fart,  hittrr,  astonishing, 
— but  n.ittmil  enough.  We  have  seen  those  1' 
ests  at  thrir  hrihrrv  iu  IMiiludi  Iphia  and  St.  Louis; 
we  liave  seen  them  opposing  n  forms  in  every  • 

<         igo  we  have  them  cursing  reform  tri- 
um|)'  ,  though  r.  form  may  have  been  a  ben- 

« fit   t  ty  as  a  community  of  freemen,  it  is 

really  bad;  it  has  hurt  tlu  ir  Im-incss! 

Chicago  has  paid  dearly  for  its  reform,  and  re- 


II I H  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
formers  cU«  \\ln-n-  might  as  well  nali/e  that  if  they 
lv  will  pay,  too,  at  first.  Capital 
will  box  cot t  it  and  capital  will  «;ixe  it  a  had  name. 
Thr  hankers  who  offered  me  proof  of  tin  ir  bMMI 
\M  IT  offering  m,.  matrrial  to  \\rite  down  the  citv. 
And  has  Chicago  had  conspicuous  credit  for  re 
form?  No,  it  is  in  ill  repute,  "anarchistic,"  "so- 
cialistic" (a  commercial  term  for  municipal  own 
cr-hip);  it  is  "  unfru ndl v  to  capital."  Hut  Chi- 
cago knows  what  it  is  after  and  it  knows  the  cost. 
There  are  business  men  there  who  are  willing  to 
pay ;  they  told  me  so.  There  arc  business  men  on 
tin-  executive  and  finance  committees  of  the  League 
and  others  helping  outside  who  are  among  the 
leaders  of  Chicago's  business  and  its  bar.  More- 
over, there  are  promoters  who  expect  to  like  an 
honest  Council.  One  such  told  me  that  he  meant 
to  apply  for  franchises  shortly,  and  he  believed 
that,  though  it  would  take  longer  than  bribery  to 
negotiate  fair  terms  with  aldermen  who  were  keen 
to  safeguard  the  city's  interests,  yet  business  could 
be  done  on  that  basis.  "  Those  reform  aldermen 
are  slow,  but  they  are  fair,"  he  said. 

The  aldermen  are  fair.  Exasperated  as  they 
have  been  by  the  trifling,  the  trickery,  and  past 
boodling  of  the  street  railways,  inconvenienced  by 
bad  service,  beset  by  corporation  temptations,  they 
are  fairer  to-day  than  the  corporations.  They  have 


(  MI.  v(io   i!  \i  I  i  m  i          rn 

the  street  railways  now  in  a  corner.     The  negotia- 

.  and  they  could  squeeze  them  with  a 

vengeance.    What  is  the  »|>int  of  those  aldermen? 

•    \\  -  II."  wtid  one  to  „„.,  -  Til  t.  II  you  how  we  feel. 

e  K«»t  f"  «' -t  tll(  terests  well  protected. 

Thut  But  we've  got  mor« 

I  ;  thi-M- •  •  s  don't  know  how 

to  handlr  us.    They  are  not    .p  to  the  new,  n  form, 

on  tin-  level  way  of  lining  huftincu.    We've  g- 

show  capital  that  we  will  give  them  all  that  is  com- 

in^  t«»  t!  i  ju^t  a  little  more — a  little  more, 

ju-t  'hem  used  to  U-ing  honest."    ThU  was 

\\  itliout  a  Lit  of  humor,  with  *ome  anxiety  but 

no  bitterness,  and  not  a  word  about  socialism  or 

tisratin^     municipal     ownership":     that's    a 

44  raj  "    hugaboo.     Again,   one    Saturday 

m-lit  a  personal  friend  of  mine  who  had  lost  a 

holiday  at  a  conference  with  some  of  the  lead- 

D,  romp!  '  precisones*." 

h.   s ai.l,  M  they  had  to  have  i-\.-r\   trivial 

tin-    city    protected,    then,    when    we 

seemed  to  be  done,  they  turned  around  and  argued 

t  ion  lawyers  for  the  protection  of  the 

corporation." 

Those  Chicago  aldermen  are  an  honor  to  the 

'    Mm  like  Jackson  and  Mavor,  Herrmann 

and  \V,  rn,.,  would  be  a  credit  to  any  legislative 

body  in  the  land,  hut  a  no  such  body  in  the 


272      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

land  where  they  could  do  more  good  or  win  more 
honor.  I  believe  capital  will  some  day  prefer  to  do 
business  with  them  than  with  blackmailers  and 
boodlers  anywhere. 

When  that  day  comes  the  aldermen  will  share 
the  credit  with  the  Municipal  Voters'  League,  but 
all  the  character  and  all  the  ability  of  both  Council 
and  League  will  not  explain  the  reform  of  Chicago. 
The  citizens  of  that  city  will  take  most  of  the  glory. 
They  will  have  done  it,  as  they  have  done  it  so 
far. 

Some  of  my  critics  have  declared  they  could  not 
believe  there  was  so  much  difference  in  the  char- 
acter of  communities  as  I  have  described.  How  can 
they  account,  then,  for  Chicago?  The  people  there 
have  political  parties,  they  are  partisans.  But 
they  know  how  to  vote.  Before  the  League  was 
started,  the  records  show  them  shifting  their  vote 
to  the  confusion  of  well-laid  political  plans.  So 
they  have  always  had  bosses,  and  they  have  them 
now,  but  these  bosses  admit  that  they  "  can't  boss 
Chicago."  I  think  this  is  partly  their  fault.  Wil 
liam  Lorimer,  the  dominant  Republican  boss,  with 
whom  I  talked  for  an  hour  one  day,  certainly  does 
not  make  the  impression,  either  as  a  man  or  as  a 
politician,  that  Croker  makes,  or  Durham  of  Phila- 
delphia. But  an  outsider  may  easily  go  wrong  on 
a  point  like  this,  and  we  may  leave  the  credit  where 


CHICAGO    HALF  FREE 

•    licago.     1 

a  more  forceful  man  than  am  '  •  guhtrt,  and, 

aa  a  jmlitii MH,  compare*  with  *«  II  known  lend. 

her'a  powtr  ii  tin*  peopl.  I! 

much,  hut  there  i*  Mna- 

tl.Mig  ebe  deeper  and  bigger  IH -hind  dim.  At  the 
last  alclcnnnnir  election,  when  he  discovered  on  tin- 
Saturday  before  election  that  the  League  wa»  rec- 
omiiM  nding,  against  a  bad  Democrat,  a  worse  Re- 
puhlican,  he  advised  the  people  of  that  ward  to  vote 
socialist  ;  and  the  people  did  vote  for  the 
Socialist,  and  they  elected  him.  Again,  there  is  the 
press,  the  best  in  any  of  our  large  cities.  There 

several  newspapers  in  Chicago  which  have 
served  always  the  |>nl  rest,  and  their  advice 

is  taken  1  'I 

wielded  before  the  League  came,  that  old-fash- 
ioned power  of  the  press  which  is  supposed  to  have 
passed  away.  Indeed,  <m  finest  exhihit ions 

•••dness  in  this  whole  reform  story  was 

of  these  newspapers  giving  up  the  individual 
power  ami  cr«iit  ul.ich  their  influence  on  puhlic 

on  gave  them,   to   the   Leagtir,  In-hind   u 

stepped  to  get  t  .ind  gain  for  the  city 

what  they  lost  themselves.     But  this  paid  them. 
They  <li<l  not  <!.»  it  with  that  moti\ 

t  v,  hut  the  citv  has  recognized  the  service,  as 
shows:  There  are  bad  papers  in  (hi- 


374      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

cago — papers    that  pedal    interests — and 

these  don't  pay. 

The  agents  of  reform  have  been  many  am!  *  Hi 
cient,  but  back  of  them  all  was  an  intelligent,  de- 
termined people,  and  they  have  decided.  Tin-  city 
of  Chicago  is  ruled  by  the  citi/ens  of  Chicago. 
Then  why  are  the  citi/ens  of  Chicago  satisfied  with 
half- reform?  Why  have  they  reformed  the  (\Hin- 
cil  and  left  the  administrative  side  of  govern- 
ment so  far  behind?  "  One  thing  at  a  time,"  they 
will  tell  you  out  there,  and  it  is  wonderful  t. 
them  patient  after  seven  years  of  steadfast,  fight- 
ing reform. 

But  that  is  not  the  reason.  The  administration 
has  been  improved.  It  is  absurdly  backward  and 
uneven ;  the  fire  department  is  excellent,  the  police 
is  a  disgrace,  the  law  department  is  expert,  the 
health  bureau  is  corrupt,  and  the  street  cleaning  is 
hardly  worth  mention.  All  this  is  Carter  H.  Har- 
rison. He  is  an  honest  man  personally,  but  indo- 
lent; a  shrewd  politician,  and  a  character  with  re- 
serve power,  but  he  has  no  initial  energy.  Without 
ideals,  he  does  only  what  is  demanded  of  him.  He 
does  not  seem  to  know  wrong  is  wrong,  till  he  is 
taught;  nor  to  care,  till  criticism  arouses  his  polit- 
ical sense  of  popular  requirement.  That  SCUM  is 
keen,  but  think  of  it:  Every  time  Chicago  wants 
to  go  ahead  a  foot,  it  has  first  to  push  its  mayor  up 


(  mi  \<,<)    HAM    I  KI  i  t75 

l>\  iisrli.    In  :  icago  i«  a  » -it  \  tlmt  wants 

Iceland  '  iion,  with  all  hi*  JMI! 

.  honest  willingness,  and  ol>  mde- 

|M-|ldi   MO,    MIIIJ.U     l'..ll..\*s    it.      Th«      l.'.l-'.l.      1.   .id*.    .Hid 

its  1,  id.  is  undiTntand  tlu-ir  p<  »pl.      Then  why  does 
League  submit  to  Harritoa?    Why  doesn't  DM? 
I  iiiinid  mayors  as  well  as  aldrrmen?    It 

may  some  day ;  but,  setting  out  by  accident  to  clean 
the  Council,  .stop  the  hoodling,  and  settle  the  city 
railway  trouble*,  they  have  been  «  with 

Mayor  Harrinon  because  he  had  learned  his  lesson 
on  tli.it.      A:  .1.   I   think,  as  they  say  the  mayor 
thinks,  that  when  the  people  of  Chicago  get  the 
railways  running  with  enough  cars  and  power; 

i\r  put  a  stop  to  boodling  for* 
they  will  tnkr  up  the  administrative  side  of  the  gor- 
rrnmrnt.     A  people  who  can  support  for  seven 
years  one  movement  toward  reform,  should  be  able 
to  go  on   forever.      With   the  hig  boodle  beaten, 

in  easily  be  stopped.    All 
will  be  needed  then  will  be  a  mayor  who  under- 
.  presents  the  Clt]  ;  he  will  IK-  able  to 
make  Chicago  as  rare  an  example  of  good  govern- 
ment as  it  is  now  of  reform ;  which  will  be  an  adver- 
tisement ;  good  business ;  it  will  pay. 

Pott  Scrip/urn,  December,  1903. — Chicago  has 
taken  up  since  administrative  graft.     The  Council 


276      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

is  conducting  an  investigation  which  is  showing 
tlu  city  government  to  have  been  a  second  Minne- 
apolis. Mayor  Harrison  is  helping,  and  the  citi- 
zens are  interested.  There  is  little  doubt  that 
Chicago  will  be  cleaned  up. 


\1.\\    v<  iOOD  GOVERNMENT  TO 

llll.  TEST 


\i:\V  YOHK  >   <,<>\l  K\Ml  NT  TO 

i  in     II 

(Xorcmbcr.  190$) 

JUST   about    tin-    tii  .clc    will    appear, 

Greater  New  York  will  be  holding  a  local 
on  what  has  conic  to  be  a  national  question- 
good  government.     No  douht  then   will  Ix-  < 
44  issues."      At  this  •  (September  15)  the 

candidates    were    not    named    n<>r    tlu-    pint  forms 
'•ut   tin    regular  politician*  hate  the  main 
issue,  ami  tlu  v  have  a  pntt\    trick  <>f  confusing 
tin-  lionet  niin.l  and  splitting  tlu-  honest  vote  by 
raising  u  local   issues"   which   would  settle  them 
selves  under  prolonged  honest  government.     So, 
too,  there  will  pmh.il.lv  be  some  talk  about   the 
t    this    election    mi^ht    have    upon    the    next 
Presidential  election;  miotlu-r  clever  fraud  which 
seldom  fails  to  work   to   tlu    advantage  of  rings 
and  grafters,  and  to  the  humiliation  and  despair 
•  •n.xhip.     We  have-  nothing  to  do  with 
these  deceptions.     They  may  count  in  New  Y 

.  may  determine  the  result,  hut  let  them.    They 
are  common  moves   in   the  corrupt ionist's  game, 
and,  therefore,  fair  tests  of  citizenship,  for  hon- 
•H 


180      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

esty  18  not  the  sole  qualification  for  an  honest 
voter;  intelligence  has  to  play  a  part,  too,  and 
a  little  intelligence  would  defeat  all  such  tricks. 
Anyhow,  they  cannot  disturb  us.  I  am  writing 
too  far  ahead,  and  my  readers,  for  the  most  part, 
will  be  reading  too  far  away  to  know  or  care 
anything  about  them.  We  can  grasp  firmly  the 
essential  issues  involved  and  then  watch  with 
equanimity  the  returns  for  the  answer,  plain  yes 
or  no,  which  New  York  will  give  to  the  only  ques- 
tions that  concern  us  all :  * 

Do  we  Americans  really  want  good  govern- 
ment? Do  we  know  it  when  we  see  it?  Are  we 
capable  of  that  sustained  good  citizenship  which 
alone  can  make  democracy  a  success?  Or,  to 
save  our  pride,  one  other:  Is  the  New  York  way 
the  right  road  to  permanent  reform? 

For  New  York  has  good  government,  or, 
to  be  more  precise,  it  has  a  good  administra- 
tion. It  is  not  a  question  there  of  turning 
the  rascals  out  and  putting  the  honest  men 
into  their  places.  The  honest  men  are  in,  and 
this  election  is  to  decide  whether  they  are  to  be 
kept  in,  which  is  a  very  different  matter.  Any 
people  is  capable  of  rising  in  wrath  to  overthrow 

*  Tammany  tried  to  introduce  national  issues,  but  failed, 
and  "good  government"  was  practically  the  only  question 
raised. 


M  \\    TORI     GOOD  COM  K\MI  S 
tad   rulers.     Philadelphia   has  done  that    i 
day.     New  York  ha*  done  it  several  timea.     V 
fresh  and  present  outrage*  to  avenge,  particular 

ins  to  punish,  and  the  mob  sense  of  common 
anger  to  cxcit. -,  it  is  an  emotional  gratification 

"  out  with  the  crowd  and  **  smash  someth 
This  in  nothing  I, ut   revolt,  and  even  monarchies' 
have   uprising    t<>   the  credit  of   their  subjects. 

revolt  is  unt  n  form,  and  one  revolutionary 
tuiminixtr.it  ion  is  not  good  government.  That 
we  free  A  M*  are  capable  of  such  assertions 

of  our  sovereign  power,  we  have  proven;  our 
lynchcrs  are  demonstrating  it  -very  day.  That 
we  can  go  forth  *ingly  a  No,  ami,  without  passion, 
with  nothing  hut  mild  approval  and  ciull  duty  to 
impel  us,  vote  intelligently  to  sustain  a  fairly 
good  municipal  ^o\ «  mm.  ut,  remains  to  be  shown. 
Mi  at  !>  what  New  York  has  the  chance  to 
show;  New  York,  t1  -  xponent  of  the 

tnti-bad  government   movement 
for  good  governnient. 

According  to  this,  the  standard  course  of  mu- 

il  reform,  the  politicians  are  permitted  to 
organize  a  party  on  national  line-*,  take  over  the 

••rimcnt,  corrupt  and  deceive  the  people,  and 
run  tilings  for  tl  rofit  of  the  boss  and 

his  ring,  till  t1  ption  beoomes  rampant  and 

a  scandal.     Th« n  the  reformers  comhine  the  oppo- 


TIIK  SHAMI:  oi'  TIII-:  rmi.s 

>ition:  tin-  corrupt  and  un-at  i-fi. d  minority,  the 
di.s^nmtled  groups  of  the  majority,  the  reform 
organizations;  they  nominate  a  mixed  ticket, 
headed  by  a  "good  business  man"  for  mayor, 
make  a  "hot  campaign"  against  the  gov.  rn 
mi-lit  with  "  Stop,  thief!"  for  the  cry,  and  make 
a  "clean  sweep."  Usually,  this  effects  only  the 
disciplining  of  the  reckless  grafters  and  the  im- 
provement of  the  graft  system  of  corrupt  ^r<>v- 
crmncnt.  The  good  mayor  turns  out  to  be  \\.-ak 
or  foolish  or  "  not  so  good."  The  politicians 
"  come  it  over  him,"  as  they  did  over  the  business 
mayors  who  followed  the  "Gas  Ring"  revolt 
in  Philadelphia,  or  the  people  become  di-mi-ted 
as  they  did  with  Mayor  Strong,  who  was  carried 
into  office  by  the  anti-Tammany  rebellion  in  New 
York  after  the  Lexow  exposures.  Philadelphia 
gave  up  after  its  disappointment,  and  that  is 
what  most  cities  do.  The  repeated  failun 
revolutionary  reform  to  accomplish  more  than  the 
strengthening  of  the  machine  have  so  discredited 
this  method  that  wide-awake  reformers  in  several 
cities — Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  Detroit, 
Minneapolis,  and  others — are  following  the  lead 
of  Chicago. 

The  Chicago  plan  does  not  depend  for  success 
upon  any  one  man  or  any  one  year's  work,  nor 
upon  excitement  or  any  sort  of  bad  government. 


M  \\     7OR1      00  \I.K\\1!   VI 

The  reformers  there  have  no  ward  organizations, 
it   all;  their  appeal  is  solely  to  the 
igence  of  the  voter  and  their  power  rests 
upon    that.     This    is    democratic    and    polit 
not  bourgeois  ami  business  reform,  and  it   i- 
teresting  to  i  t  whereas  reformers  elscwhcrd 

are  forever  Miking  to  concentrate  all  the  powers 
in  tli,    mayor,  thoM-  <       <  ^o  talk  of  stripping 

•Mayor  to  a  h\'tirvhcad  an<l  giving  his  powers 
o  aldermen  who  «  represent  the  people, 

and  who  change  year  by  year. 

The  Chicago  way  is  but  one  way,  however,  and 
•v  one,  ami  it  must  be  remembered  that  tin, 
plan  has  not  yet   produced  a  good  administra- 
New  York  has  that.     Chicago,  after  seven 
jean9  steady  work,  has  a  body  of  aldermen  hon- 
est .enough   and  competent   to  dc  f<  ml   the  city's 
••'  sts  against  boodl.   capital,  but  that  is  about 
all;  it  lias  a  wretched  administration.     New  York 
has  stuck  to  the  old  way.      Pr..\inciiil  and  self- 
center,  (1,    it    hardly    knows    there    is    any    other. 

*  igo  laughs  and  <>th<  r  <  ities  wonder,  but  never 
mind,    New    York,    by    persistence,    has    at    last 
achieved  a  good  administration.     Will   the  New 
Yorkers  continue  it?     That  is  the  question.  What 

*  igo  has,  it  has  secure.     1  .>.  ml.  nt 
•enship  is  trained  to  vote  every  time  and  to  vote 
for  uninteresting,  good  ald«  rim  n.     New  York  has 


2S4       THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

nn  independent  vote  of  100,000,  a  decisive  minor 
ity,  but  the  voters  have  been  taught  to  vote  only 
once  in  a  long  while,  only  when  excited  by  pic- 
turesque lc;idi  r  liip  and  sensational  exposures, 
only  against.  New  York  has  been  so  far  an 
anti-bad  government,  anti-Tammany,  not  a  good- 
government  town.  Can  it  vote,  without  Tam- 
many in  to  incite  it,  for  a  good  mayor?  I  think 
this  election,  which  will  answer  this  question, 
should  decide  other  cities  how  to  go  about  reform. 
The  administration  of  Mayor  Seth  Low  may 
not  have  been  perfect,  not  in  the  best  European 
sense:  not  expert,  not  co-ordinated,  certainly  not 
wise.  Nevertheless,  for  an  American  city,  it  has 
been  not  only  honest,  but  able,  undeniably  one 
of  the  best  in  the  whole  country.  Some  of  the 
departments  have  been  dishonest;  others  have  been 
so  inefficient  that  they  made  the  whole  adminis- 
tration ridiculous.  But  what  of  that?  Corrup- 
tion also  is  clumsy  and  makes  absurd  mistakes 
when  it  is  new  and  untrained.  The  "  oaths  "  and 
ceremonies  and  much  of  the  boodling  of  the  St. 
Louis  ring  seemed  laughable  to  my  corrupt 
friends  in  Philadelphia  and  Tammany  Hall,  and 
New  York's  own  Tweed  regime  was  "  no  joke," 
only  because  it  was  so  general,  and  so  expensive 
— to  New  York.  It  took  time  to  perfect  the 
"  Philadelphia  plan "  of  misgovemment,  and  it 


\i.\\    YORK'.  GOOD  G<)N  I.KNMI  N  i 

took  time  to  edu«  •  t-r  and  develop  his  Tam- 

IM  in  \    Hi         I     will  tnkc  time  to  evolve  masters 
of  t!  tu<licd  Art  of  muni 

government — time  and  demand.     So  far  there  has 
been   no    market    for   municipal   expert*    in    thi* 

'o-day  in  our 

•well,  «•  ik  In  irt,,l  u  IN.   :,   th.it  mean,  nidimen- 
tur    iniM-.ill,  .1    ••  cnnimon    liom^ '  D<> 

we   really    want    it?      CYrt/iinlv    M  i\«.r    Ix>w    U 
peeuniarilx    licuirst.      H«    is  more;  he  U  con** 
and   <  (1    and    pervonallj    efB< 

!>usin«-xH,  I,,-  rose  above  iv  -^  to  tin* 

in    tin-   conduct    of  mi    intrr 

1  IOIIHO,  two  terms  as  mayor 

'.'•<»<>kl\ M,  and  t..  tli.it   Again  a  very  eJF»< 

ndinSniNtrat ion,   a*    pnxiii.nt,   of    tin-  business   of 

'  I  He  began    lu<    mayoralty 

*ith  a  study  of  the  affairs  of  New  York;  he  has 

liimsclf  that    li*  :.t    months  to  its 

i  In-  masti-n-d  this  department  and  U 

ndmittcd    to   It.     tli.     mast,  r    in    <i<  tail   of  i-yrry  de- 

whirli    has    t-n^a^t-d    his    utti-nt  ion.      In 

Mr.   Low  has    '  the  business 

f  New  York;  .just   about  competent  now 

to  brromr  tin-  mayor  of  a  great  city.     Is  there 

a  dei  r  Mr.  Low? 

No      \\      n    I   made  my  inquiries — before  the 
;  had  begun — the  Fusion  leaders  of  the  anti- 


',»S(>       'II 1 1:  SIIA.Mi;  OF  THE  CITI  IS 
Tamman  v   forces,  uho  nominated  Mr.  Low,  said 
they    might    renominate    him.      "  Who    else    was 
tin  re?"    they    asked.        And    they    thought     In 

"might"     be     rc-eleeted.        The     alteniat  i\e     uas 

Richard  Crokcr  or  Charles  F.  Murphy,  his  man, 
for  no  matter  who  Tammany's  candidate  for 
mayor  was,  if  Tammany  won,  Tammany's  boss 
would  rule.  The  personal  issue  was  plain  enough. 
Yet  was  there  no  assurance  for  Mr.  Low. 

Why?  There  are  many  forms  of  the  answer 
^ivtn,  but  they  nearly  all  reduce  themselves  to 
one — the  man's  personality.  It  is  not  very  en- 
gaging. Mr.  Low  has  many  respect  ahle  qual- 
ities, but  these  never  are  amiable.  "  Did  you 
see  his  smile?"  said  a  politician  who  was  trying 
to  account  for  his  instinctive  dislike  for  the 
mayor.  I  had;  there  is  no  laughter  back  of  it, 
no  humor,  and  no  sense  thereof.  The  appeal inrr 
human  element  is  lacking  all  through.  His  good 
abilities  are  self-sufficient;  his  dignity  is  smug; 
his  courtesy  seems  not  kind;  his  self-reliance  is 
called  obstinacy  because,  though  he  listens,  he 
seems  not  to  care ;  though  he  understands,  he 
shows  no  sympathy,  and  when  he  decides,  his 
reasoning  is  private.  His  most  useful  virtues — 
probity,  intelligence,  and  conscientiousness — in 
action  are  often  an  irritation;  they  are  so  con- 
tented. Mr.  Low  is  the  bourgeois  reformer  type. 


NK\\     5TOB  >OD  G0\l  K\MIA  I 

1       i   where   i  promises  he  gets  no  cr< 

his  concession*  make    tin-    impression  of  surren- 
ders.    A  politician  can  say  *4  no  "  and  make  a 
>i,  where  Mr.  Low  will  lose  one  bj  saying 
Mje>  1   and   impersonal,  he  cools  even  his 

heads  of  departments.     Loyal  puhhc  service  they 
.  because  his  tiwte  in  for  men  who  would  do 
licir  own  sake,   not    for   his,  and 
excellent    -  has    had      Hut 

ineiiilHT*  of   Mr.   Low's  nclministnitioii   helped  me 
.in;  tin  v  could  not  help  it.      Mr. 
>|  1^  not 

But  what  of  that?     Why  hlmuld  Inn  colleagues 

^miihl  anybody  likr  him?     Why 

.should  hr  si-,-k  to  ch.-iriiu  win  affection,  and  make 

di?      Ho  was  elected  to  at tmd  to  the  business 

of   his   office   and    to    appoint   subordinates    who 

should  attend  to  th.-  business  of  their  offices,  not 

.akc  "political   stnn^th"  and  win  elections. 

Will.          i     ro  n    -I.  picturesque   Dis- 

I  t-y,    whose   si  i    intrll. 

sty  made  su:  Ix>w  two 

years  ago,  detests  him  as  a  bourgeois,  hut   the 

oralty  is  lu  Id  in  New  York  to  be  a  bourgeois 

office        M      Low  is  the  ideal  product  of  the  New 

York    theory   that    municipal  go\  *    is  busi- 

ness,  not  politics,  and  that  a  business  man  who 

would  manage  tin    ntv   as  he  would  a  business 


TIIK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
corporation,  would  sol\«-  for  us  all  our  troubles. 
Chicago  reformers  think  \sc  have  got  to  sohe 
our  own  problems;  that  government  is  political 
business;  that  men  brought  up  in  politics  and 
experienced  in  public  office  will  make-  tin-  best  ad- 
ministrators. They  have  refused  to  turn  from 
tluir  politician  mayor,  Carter  H.  Harrison,  for 
the  most  ideal  business  candidate,  and  I  have 
heard  them  say  that  when  Chicago  was  ripe  for 
a  better  mayor  they  would  prefer  a  candidate 
chosen  from  among  their  well-tried  aldermen. 
Again,  I  say,  however,  that  this  is  only  one  way, 
and  New  York  has  another,  and  this  other  is  tin- 
standard  American  way. 

But  again  I  say,  also,  that  the  New  York  way 
is  on  trial,  for  New  York  has  what  the  whole 
country  has  been  looking  for  in  all  municipal 
crises — the  non-political  ruler.  Mr.  Low's  very 
faults,  which  I  have  emphasized  for  the  purpose, 
emphasize  the  point.  They  make  it  impossible 
for  him  to  be  a  politician  even  if  he  should  wish 
to  be.  As  for  his  selfishness,  his  lack  of  tact, 
his  coldness — these  are  of  no  consequence.  He 
has  done  his  duty  all  the  better  for  them.  Admit 
that  he  is  uninteresting;  what  does  that  matter? 
He  has  served  the  city.  Will  the  city  not  vote 
for  him  because  it  does  not  like  the  way  he  smiles? 
Absurd  as  it  sounds,  that  is  what  all  I  have  heard 


\I.\V    M)liK     (100D   (• 
against  Low  amounts  to.     But  to  reduce  the  tit- 

•  ii    to   u    further   absurdity,    1«  t    us 
aitogtth.r  the  personality  «••  Low.     Let  at 

suppose  he  has  no  smile,  no  courtesy,  no  dignity, 
no  efficiency,  no  personality  at  all;  nuppose  he 
were  an  It  and  had  not  given  New  York  a  good 
admins  tr.it  ion,  but  had  only  honestly  tried. 
What  tl 

Taininaiix  Hill?     That  is  the  alternative.    The 
Tan r  iliticians  sec  it  just  as  clear  as  that, 

and  they  arc  not  in  the  habit  of  deceiving  them- 
selves. They  say  "  it  is  a  Tammany  year," 
44 Tammany's  turn"  They  say  it  and  they  be- 

it.  They  study  the  people,  and  they  know 
it  is  all  a  matter  of  citizenship:  they  admit 

< •unimt  win  unless  a  goodly  part  of  the  in- 
dependent vote  goes  to  them;  and  still  they  say 

can  beat  Mr.  Low  or  any  other  man  the 
anti-Tammany  forces  may  nominate.  So  we  are 
safe  in  eliminating  Mr.  Low  and  reducing  the 
issue  to  plain  Tammany. 

Tammany  is  bad  government  :  not  inethY 
hut  dMionrst  ;  not  a  party,  not  a  delusion  and  a 
snare,  hardly  known  by  its  party  name — Democ- 
racy |  little  standing  in  the  national  coun- 
cil* of  the  party  and  caring  little  for  influence 
ouNide  of  tlu  city.  Tammany  is  Tammany,  the 
embodiment  of  corruption.  All  the  world  knows 


290      THE  SIIAMi:  or  Till:  CITIES 

and  all  the  world  may  know  what  it  is  and  \\hnt 
it  is  after.  For  hypocrisy  is  not  a  Tammany 
flOe.  Taininaiiy  is  for  Tammany,  and  the  Tain 
many  men  say  so.  Oilier  rings  proclaim  lies  and 
make  pretensions;  other  rogues  talk  about  the 
tariff  and  imperialism.  (Tammany  i^  honestly 
dishonest.  Time  and  time  again,  in  private  and 
in  public',  the  leaders,  hig  and  little,  have  ^aid 
they  are  out  for  themselves  and  their  own;  not 
for  the  public,  but  for  "me  and  my  friends"; 
not  for  New  York,  but  for  Tammany.  Richard 
(Yokcr  >aid  under  oath  once  that  he  worked  for 
his  own  pockets  all  the  time,  and  Tom  Grady, 
the  Tammany  orator,  has  brought  his  crowds  to 
their  feet  cheering  sentiments  as  primitive,  stated 
with  candor  as  brutal. 

The  man  from  Mars  would  say  that  such  an 
organization,  so  self-confessed,  could  not  be  \ery 
dangerous  to  an  intelligent  people.  Foreigners 
marvel  at  it  and  at  us,  and  even  Americans 
I Ynnsylvanians,  for  example — cannot  understand 
why  we  New  Yorkers  regard  Tammany  as  so 
formidable.  I  think  I  can  explain  it.  Tam- 
many is  corruption  with  consent ;  it  is  bad  gov- 
ernment founded  on  the  suffrages  of  the  people. 
The  Philadelphia  machine  is  more  powerful.  It 
rules  Philadelphia  by  fraud  and  force  and  does 
not  require  the  votes  of  the  people.  The  Philadel- 


\i  \\  rou  GOOD  aovi.KNMi.N  i 

in  do  n«  .-•  machine;  their  ma- 

votes  for  them.     Tammany  used  to  stuff 

the    ballot    boxes    and     mt;n..«lit.      \<>' 

ill\     n<  Tammany!  ^ 

rules,  whin  it  rule*,  by  right  of  the  votes  of  tbd 
people  of  New  York. 

iiiinny  corruption  is  democratic  corruption. 
i  I'iiil  til<  l|>ln.i  ring  is  rooted  in  sp* 

•its.     Tiuiiinniiy,  too,  is  allied  with  M  vested 
hut  T.imm.iny  labors  under  disadvan- 
tages not   knoun  in  Philadelphia.     The  Philadel- 
ring  is  of  the  same  party  that  rules  the 
I   the-  nation,  ami  the  local  rin^   forms  a 
living  chain   with   thr  State  and  national  rings. 
Tammany   is   a    pun-lv    local    concern.     With    a 
ritv  onlv  in  oM  Ni-u   York,  it  has  not  only 
to  huy  what  it  wants  from  th«-   Ht-puhliran  ma- 
tv    in    the  State,   hut    must   trade  to  get   the( 
uholf  (  ^  business  everywhere  I* 

«•  of  political  corruption,  ami  it  is  one  soul 

i  <>!  K  ;  hut  most  of  the  hif{  business 
resent. (1    in    \.\\     York    ha\i-    no    plants    there.l 
OftVt-  t!  .  and  head  omces,  of  many  trusts 

ami  railways,  t'.»r  .xampK-,  hut  that  is  all.      '1 

ait  two  railway  terminals  in  •  .  and  but 

Always  use  them.     These  have  to  do  more 

*ith    Allmnv    than    New    York.     So   with    WaD 

PhihuUj.luVs    stock    exchange    deak 


292      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

largely  in  Pennsylvania  Mvurities,  New  York's  in 
those  of  the  \\hole  Tinted  States.  There  is  a 
small  Wall  Street  group  that  .spcciali/es  in  local 
corporations,  and  th«  \  an  active  and  give  Tam- 
many a  Wall  Street  connection,  but  the  biggest 
ami  the  majority  of  our  financial  leaders,  hrihers 
though  they  may  be  in  other  cities  and  even  in 
New  York  State,  are  independent  of  Tammany 
Hall,  and  can  he  honest  citi/cns  at  home.  From 
this  class,  indeed,  \«  u  York  can,  and  often  does, 
draw  some  of  its  reformers.  Not  so  Philadelphia. 
That  bourgeois  opposition  which  has  persisted 
for  thirty  years  in  the  fight  against  Tammany 
corruption  was  squelched  in  Philadelphia  after  its 
first  great  uprising.  Matt  Quay,  through  tin- 
banks,  railways,  and  other  business  interests,  was 
able  to  reach  it.  A  large  part  of  his  power  is 
negative;  there  is  no  opposition.  Tammany's 
power  is  positive.  Tammany  cannot  reach  all  the 
largest  interests  and  its  hold  is  upon  the  people. 
Tammany's  democratic  corruption  rests  upon 
jthe  corruption  of  the  people,  the  plain  people, 
and  there  lies  its  great  significance;  its  grafting 
system  is  one  in  which  more  individuals  share  than 
any  I  have  studied.  The  people  themselves  get 
very  little;  they  come  cheap,  but  they  are  inter- 
ested. Divided  into  districts,  the  organization 
subdivides  them  into  precincts  or  neighborhoods, 


\1  \\     \MliK      (,<>Ml)    001  1   RKlfl 
an. I  '!,.  ir  sovereign  power,  in  the  form  of  vote*. 
is    Ix.u-ht    D]  lulu.-.-*    and    p«M\     privilege*. 

I  -1.  r,  win  ti  necessary, 

by  iiitin  t.  it   tin*  lender 

have  t)i.  hecause  they  take  can- 

own.     They  speak  pleasant  word*,  smile  fr 
Mni!-  tin-  baby,  give  ; 

or  the  S. MUM I,  or  a  slap  on  tin-  hark,  find  job*, 
most  of  (In-ill  at  tin  ,«-,  hut  they  have 

^-stands  peddling  |»ri\ih-«r-,  rnilrond  and 
r    huHinciui    plan  •»<•;    they    permit 

violations  of  the  law,  and,  if  a  man  has  broken 
tlu    I.iu    \\itli.uit   permiMion,  tee  him  through  tlu- 

'rhou^h  a  blow  in  tin-  face  i«  a*  n 
11  as  a  shake  of  tin-  lunui.  Tummany  kindness 
is  real  kindness,  and  will  go  far,  remember  long, 
and  tukr  infinite  trouhN-   for  a   frii-ml. 

The  power  that    is   ^athrn-d   uj>  thus  chen 
lik,    garbages   in   tin-  districts   is  concentrated   in 
th«     (ii^trict    1.  .i.l,  r.    who    in    turn    passes    it    on 
through  a  general  committee  to  the  boss.     This 
is  a  fonn  of  living  government,  '•  gal,  but 

Tery   act  I,    though    t  uning*   of   it 

are  pun  !\   <!•  •  •  p«  at  each  stage 

into  an  auto.  !      i        ulelphia  the  boss  ap- 

points   a  '    leader   and   gives    him    jmwer. 

Tammany  has  done  that  in  two  or  three  no1 
instances,   but    never   without    causing   at* 


29-*     i  in:  si i. \ MI;  OF  THE  CITIES 

light  winch  lasts  often  for  years.  In  Philadel- 
phia the  Statr  boss  designates  the  city  boss.  In 
V  \\  York,  Croker  has  failed  signally  to  main- 
tain vice-bosses  whom  he  appointed.  The  boss 
of  Tamilian v  Hall  is  a  growth,  and  just  as 
Crnker  grew,  so  has  Charles  F.  Murphy  grown 
up  to  Croker's  place.  Again,  whereas  in  Phil- 
adelphia the  boss  and  his  ring  handle  and  keep 
almost  all  of  the  graft,  leaving  little  to  the  dis 
trict  leaders,  in  New  York  the  district  lenders 
share  handsomely  in  the  spoils. 

There  is  more  to  share  in  New  York.  It  is 
impossible  to  estimate  the  amount  of  it,  not  only 
for  me,  but  for  anybody.  No  Tammany  man 
knows  it  all.  Police  friends  of  mine  say  that 
the  Tammany  leaders  never  knew  how  rich  police 
corruption  was  till  the  Lcxow  committee  e\j 
it,  and  that  the  politicians  who  had  been  content 
with  small  presents,  contributions,  and  influence, 
"  did  not  butt  in"  for  their  share  till  they  saw 
by  the  testimony  of  frightened  police  grafters 
that  the  department  was  worth  from  four  to  five 
millions  a  year.  The  items  are  so  incredible  that 
I  hesitate  to  print  them.  Devery  told  a  friend 
once  that  in  one  year  the  police  graft  was  "  some- 
thing over  $3,000,000."  Afterward  the  syndi- 
cate which  divided  the  graft  under  Devery  took 
in  for  thirty-six  months  $400,000  a  month  from 


\l.\\     V()j  iM.HNMI.Vl       ::•• 

namlilinx  and  poolroom*  alone.    Saloon  bribers, 
v  house  blttckumil,  \>  m\^ 

up  to  amazing  proportions. 

V  tent,  and  a  de- 

partment that  was  overlooked  bj  Tammany  for 
years.     The  annual  budget  <  if  about 

$100,000,000,  and  though  the  power  that  cornea 
of  t  f  that  amount  is  enormous 

and    thr    Mpp.,rtimitir«i    for   rake-offs   inl'mitr,    thi* 
MUM  is  11  df  of  the  resource*  of  Tammany 

wln-ii  it   is  in  p..^          II       resource*  are  the  re- 
sources of  tl  is  a  business,  as  a  polit 
at  a  social  power.      If  Tain  .1.1  IH    i 
porated,  and  all  its  .               .  Imth  l«^iti 
ill.-                gathertMi  up  and   j 

la,  tin-  stockholders  would  get  more  than  the 
New  York  (« nt nil  bond  and  stock  holdrr-,  more 

th«-  StanJird  Oil   st.M-khnl.lrr>,  and 
trolling  cli<jur  would  u  irld  a  po^ 

•  >f    thr    rilit.'il    Statr>.  I 

iii  coi i*  N    -rk,  takes  out  of  the 

unIx -lirvahN-  iiiillions  of  dollars  a  year. 
No  wonder  thr  Ir.iders  are  all  rich;  no  wond.  r 
>o  many  more  Tammany  men  an    rich   than  are 
thr  leaders  in  any  other  town;  no  wonder  T 
many    is    liberal    in    its  D    of    thr    g] 

Croker  took  the  best  and  the  safest  of  it,  find  he 
accepted  shares  in  others.     He  was  "  in  on  the 


-riii-:  MIAMI;  OF  Tin:  CITIES 

Wall  Street  end,"  and  the  Tammany  clique  of 
financing  have  knockrd  doun  and  bought  up  at 
low  prices  Manhattan  Railway  stock  by  tlnvnts 
of  the  city's  power  over  tin-  road;  they  have  been 
let  in  nn  Metropolitan  deals  and  on  the  Third 
A\emic  Railroad  grab;  the  Ice  trust  is  a  Tam- 
many trust;  they  have  banks  and  trust  com- 
panies, and  through  the  New  York  Realty  Com- 
pany are  forcing  alliances  with  such  financial 
groups  as  that  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company. 
Crnker  shared  in  these  deals  and  hu^im -^« ^.  He 
sold  judgeships,  taking  his  pay  in  the  form  of 
contributions  to  the  Tammany  campaign  fund, 
of  which  he  was  treasurer,  and  he  had  the  judges 
take  from  the  regular  real  estate  exchange  all 
the  enormous  real  estate  business  that  passed 
through  the  courts,  and  give  it  to  an  exchange 
connected  with  the  real  estate  business  of  his  firm, 
Peter  F.  Meyer  &  Co.  This  alone  would  main- 
tain a  ducal  estate  in  England.  But  his  real 
estate  business  was  greater  than  that.  It  had 
extraordinary  legal  facilities,  the  free  advertising 
of  abuse,  the  prestige  of  political  privilege,  all 
of  which  brought  in  trade;  and  it  had  advance 
information  and  followed,  with  profitable  deals, 
great  public  improvements. 

Though   Croker   said   he   worked    for   his    own 
pockets   all   the  time,  and  did  take  the  best   of 


NK\\    7ORK:  GOOD  GOVERNMENT    «7 

^mft,  IM    HIU  not  "hoggUh."     Soroeof  th. 
in  tin  |  th«    Department  of 

.*:    $100,000,000  a  year  gc*  uild- 

ing  «.JM  ration*  in  New  Y«»rk.  All  of  thi»,  from 
out -house*  to  sky -scrapers,  in  to  very 

precise  laws  on-.,  i,,,»st   of  tliem  wise, 

tome  impotsil  I'lu-  Huilding   :  •  umt  ha* 

the  enforceii;  !MM  ;  it  passes  upon  all  con- 

strurti<M  .  tuul  juililif.  at  all  stages,  from 

plan-making  to  urinal  romp!  nn  cause 

not  onlv  "  nna\«»iil  il.l.  .1.  lav,"  luit  ran  niiik 
at  most  profitable  \ml.it  im\*.  Arrhiti-cts  and 
hniMiTs  had  to  .stand  in  with  tin- 

!Nd    mi    tin-    ri^lit    man    and    th«-y    s- 
on  A  seal,    uhich  was  not  fi\«d,  hut    which  gen- 

y  was  on  the  basis  of  th<   department^  esti- 
mate of  a  fair  half  of  the  value  of  the  »a\in^  in 

or  bad  matt-rial.     This  brought   in  at  least 
a   bank.  r\    p,TO  nt.-ige   on   one    hundred    mi 
a  year.     Cmk.  r,  so  far  as  I  can  make  out,  took 
none  of  tl»M  it   was  1. 1  out  to  other  leaders  and 
was  their  own  ^i 

District   A*  William  Travrrs  .!<  rome  has 

looked  into  the  Dock  Department,  and  he  knows 
things  which  In-  v< -t  may  pn>  This  is  an  im- 

portant in\rsti^.-it:nn  for  two  reasons.     It  i* 
large  graft,  and  the  new  Tammany  leader,  Charlie 
had    it.     New    York    wants    to    know 


I  HH  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
more  about  Murphy,  and  it  .should  want  to  know 
about  tlu-  mana-rement  (,f  iu  docks,  since,  just 
as  other  ritii-s  li;l\,-  tlirir  corrupt  dealings  with 
railways  and  their  terminals,  so  New  York's  ^ 
terminal  business  is  with  steamships  and  docks. 
These  docks  should  pay  the  city  handsom.  1\ . 
Mr.  .Murphy  says  they  shouldn't;  h<  jx  irtae,  U 
Crokcr  was  before  he  became  old  and  garrulous, 
and,  as  Tammany  men  put  it,  "keeps  his  mouth 
shut,"  but  he  did  say  that  the  docks  should  not. 
be  run  for  revenue  to  the  city,  but  for  their  own 
improvement.  The  Dock  Board  has  exclusive 
and  private  and  secret  control  of  the  expenditure 
of  $10,000,000  a  year.  No  wonder  Murphy 
chose  it. 

It  is  impossible  to  follow  all  New  York  graft 
from  its  source  to  its  final  destination.  It  is 
impossible  to  follow  here  the  course  of  that  which 
is  well  known  to  New  Yorkers.  There  arc  public- 
works  for  Tammany  contractors.  There  arc  pri- 
vate works  for  Tammany  contractors,  and  cor- 
porations and  individuals  find  it  expedient  to  let 
it  go  to  Tammany  contractors.  Tammany  has  a 
very  good  system  of  grafting  on  public  work> :  I 
mean  that  it  is  "good"  from  the  criminal  point 
of  view — and  so  it  has  for  the  fimiMiin^  of  sup- 
plies. Low  bids  and  short  deliveries,  generally 
speaking  (and  that  is  the  only  way  I  can  speak 


\i.\\    FORK]  GOOD  GOM.KNV 
here),  is  the  method     But  the  Tammany  system, 
as  a  >.  weak. 

Tammany  men  as  grafters  have  a  confldaoct 

in  their  methods  and  system,  which,  in  the  light 
of  Mir! i  <m   as   that   of   Philadelphia,   is 

amusing,  and  the  average  New  Yorker  takes  in 
"  tli.    organization"  a  queer  sort  of  pride,  * 
is  ignorant   and  provincial.      Tammany   is  'way 

•  I  the  turn  s.  It  if  growing ;  it  has  improved. 
In  Tweed'*  day  the  politicians  stole  from  the  city 
treasury,  divided  the  money  on  the  steps  of  the 

Hall,  and,  not  only  the  leaders,  big  and 
little,  I mt  beckrs  and  outsiders;  not  only  Tweed, 
hut  ward  carpenters  robbed  tl.  not  only 

politicians,  but  newspapers  ami  citizens  wen 
mi  th.-  ili\\\."     Vu   y,.rk,  not  Tammany  alone, 
was    corrupt.       \Vh.  n    the    exposure    came,    and 
Tweed  asked  his  famous  question,  "  What  arc  you 

g  to  do  about  it?  "  tin-  ring  mayor,  A.  Oakcy 
Hall,  asked  another  as  significant.  It  was  re- 
ported that  suit  was  to  be  brought  against  the 
ring  to  recover  stolen  funds.  **  Who  is  going 
to  sue?"  said  Mayor  Hall,  who  could  not  think 
of  anybody  of  i  cc  sufficiently  without  sin 

irmv  the  first  stone.  Stealing  was  stopped 
and  grafting  was  made  more  busincss-liki ,  hut 
still  it  was  too  general,  and  the  boodling  for  the 
Broadway  street  railway  franchise  prompted  a 


300      THE  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 

still  closer  grip  on  the  business.  The  organiza- 
tion since  then  has  been  gradually  concentrating 
tin-  control  of  graft.  Croker  did  not  pr<> 
so  far  along  the  line  as  tlu-  Philadelphia  ring 
has,  as  the  police  scandals  showed.  After  the 
Lexow  exposures,  Tammany  took  over  that  graf'l, 
but  still  let  it  go  practically  by  districts,  and 
tlu«  police  captains  still  got  a  third.  After  the 
Ma/ft  (\POMIKS,  Devery  became  Chief,  and  the 
police  graft  was  so  concentrated  that  the-  division 
was  reduced  to  fourteen  parts.  Again,  later,  it 
was  reduced  to  a  syndicate  of  four  or  five  men, 
with  a  dribble  of  miscellaneous  graft  for  the 
police.  In  Philadelphia  the  police  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  police  graft ;  a  policeman  may  col- 
lect it,  but  he  acts  for  a  politician,  who  in  turn 
passes  it  up  to  a  small  ring.  That  is  the  drift 
in  New  York.  Under  Devery  the  police  officers 
got  comparatively  little,  and  the  rank  and  file 
themselves  were  blackmailed  for  transfers  and 
promotions,  for  remittances  of  fines,  and  in  a 
dozen  other  petty  ways. 

Philadelphia  is  the  end  toward  which  New  York 
under  Tammany  is  driving  as  fast  as  the  lower 
intelligence  and  higher  conceit  of  its  leaders  will 
let  it.  In  Philadelphia  one  very  small  ring  gets 
everything,  dividing  the  whole  as  it  pleases,  and 
not  all  those  in  the  inner  ring  are  politicians. 


M.\\     YORE!    GOOD   <iu\|   K\\I1    S  I 
Trusting  .  they  arc  safe  from  ei- 

posurc,  more  powerful,  more  deliberate,  and  they 

wise  a*  |  •!*.     When,  as  in  N« 

the  number  of  grafters  is  Urge,  thU  delicate 
business  U  in  some  hands  that  are  rapacious. 
The  police  graft,  in  I).  \. -r\%  dajt 

nut  i-ontt -nt  with  the  amounts  collected  from 
tin  lii-r  rieM,  Tli.  \  minor  vice*,  like 

•   Midi  an  extent   that   •  King 

was   caught    mid    iient    to    pri»on,    and    Dev 
w.'inliii.in.    (il.ini.iri.    «.i^    |.MN|I..|    mt,.    «..•    ti^jht     .1 

hole  tl> at  tin-re  was  danger  that  1  >  rnvy 

!••  would  ^i  t  paxt  (i!.  IIIHIII  to  Deverj  and 
the  sjndi  •  Tin-  inn  nlor  of  a  wit  nets  the  night 
he  was  in  the  Tenderloin  JM>  ion  »enred  to 

save  the  day.  Hut,  worst  of  all,  Tammany,  the 
"  frii-nd  nf  t!  i  the  organization 

of  a  band  of  so-cnll<  d  (  .idrts,  who  made  a  business, 
imdrr  tin-  prottrtinn  «»f  tin-  pnlirr,  of  ruining  tin- 

.Jitrrs  of  tin-  tmcments  and  even  of  catt 
and  jinpriMiiiiiig  in  disorderly  houso  .  .-s  of 

poor  mm.     Thix  horrid  tr.itlic  n.\.r  was  «\|M»s«d; 
;iot  Iw.     N'icious  women  were 

**  pla  i   t.ii.iiMiit    houses  ami   (I   know   this 

personal  hildren  of  decent  parents  counted 

<>mcrs,  witnessed  tlu-ir  transactions  with 
these  nvatun-s,  and,  as  a  father  told  with  shame 
and  trars,  n  ported  totals  at  the  family  tn! 


I  I  IK  SHAME  OF  THE  CITIES 
Tammany  leaders  are  usually  the  natural 
leaders  <>f  the  people  in  tlu-sr  districts,  and  they 
are  originally  good-natured,  kindly  men.  No  one 
has  a  more  .si nre re  liking  than  I  for  some  of  those 
common  but  generous  fellows;  their  charity  is 
real,  at  first.  Hut  they  .sell  out  their  own  people. 
They  do  give  them  coal  and  help  them  in  their  pri- 
vate troubles,  but,  as  they  grow  rich  and  power- 
ful, the  kindness  goes  out  of  the  charity  and  they 
not  only  collect  at  their  saloons  or  in  rents — cash 
for  their  "  goodness  ";  they  not  only  ruin  fathers 
and  sons  and  cause  the  troubles  they  relieve ;  they 
sacrifice  the  children  in  the  schools;  let  the  Health 
Department  neglect  the  tenements,  and,  worst  of 
all,  plant  vice  in  the  neighborhood  and  in  the 
homes  of  the  poor. 

This  is  not  only  bad;  it  is  bad  politics;  it  has 
defeated  Tammany.  Woe  to  New  York  \\h»n 
Tammany  learns  better.  Honest  fools  talk  of  the 
reform  of  Tammany  Hall.  It  is  an  old  hope,  this, 
and  twice  it  has  been  disappointed,  but  it  is  not 
vain.  That  is  the  real  danger  ahead.  The  reform 
of  a  corrupt  ring  means,  as  I  have  said  before,  the 
reform  of  its  system  of  grafting  and  a  wise  consid- 
eration of  certain  features  of  good  government. 
Croker  turned  his  "  best  chief  of  police,"  William 
S.  Devery,  out  of  Tammany  Hall,  and,  slow  and  old 
as  he  was,  Croker  learned  what  clean  streets  were 


\l.\\    NUICK     GOOD  COVERS' MENT     9M 
from  *  i|  hem.    Now  there 

ii  a  new  bos-.  .  Charles  F.  Murphy, 

ami    link!  II       look*    d8OM» 

I. ut  I,,-  net-*  uitl  .lecision,  and  skill.    The 

new  mayor  will  I.,   hi*  man.     He  may  divide  «ith 
Crokcr  and  leave  to  the  "  dl  his  accu»- 

tomed  graft,  hut  M  .r-phy  nil!  ml.  Tam- 

many and,  if  Tammany  U  elected,  New  York  alto. 
I  >.  Nixon  is  ur^in^  Murphy  puhlirly,  ai  I 
declare  against  the  police  scandal*  and  all 
the  worst  practices  of  Tammany.  Lewis  Nixon  is 
an  horn-jit  man,  hut  he  was  one  of  the  men  Croker 

»f  Tammany  Hall.     And 

ijncd  Mr.  Nixon  said  that  he  foutul 

•  •ulil  not  k«  )>  that  leadership  and  his 

N        M      \  i  xon  is  a  type  of  the  man 

who  thinks  Tammany  would  be  fit  to  rule  New 

Y<>rk  if  thr  or^Hiii/ation  would  " 

As  a  New  Vnrkrr,  I  fear  Murphy  will  prove  sa- 
gacious enough   to  do  just  that:  ittop  the  scan- 
put    all    the   graft   in    tin-    hinds   of  a   few 
I   and   tru<    mm,   and  give  th<    rity   what   it 
would  call  good  government.    Murphy  says  he  will 
nominate  for  mayor  a  man  so  "good"  that  his 
goodness  will  astonish  New  York.      I  don't  fear 
a   bad   Tammany    mayor;    I    dread    the   election 
of   a   good   one.      For   I   have  been   to   Phila- 
delphia. 


no*     TIM:  si i. \ MI:  OF  THE  CITIES 

Philadelphia  had  a  had  ring  mayor,  a  man  who 
promoted  the  graft  and  caused  scandal  after  scan 
dal.      The  leaders  there,  the  wisest    political  graft- 
ers in   this  country,   learned  a  great  lesson  from 
that.     A8  one  of  them  said  to  me : 

"  The  American  people  don't  mind  grafting,  but 
tlu-y  hate  scandals.  They  don't  kick  so  much  on  a 
jiggered  public  contract  for  a  boulevard,  but  they 
want  the  boulevard  and  no  fuss  and  no  dust.  We 
want  to  give  them  that.  We  want  to  give  them 
what  they  really  want,  a  quiet  Sabbath,  safe 
streets,  orderly  nights,  and  homes  secure.  They 
let  us  have  the  police  graft.  But  this  mayor  was  a 
hog.  You  see,  he  had  but  one  term  and  he  could 
get  his  share  only  on  what  was  made  in  his  tenn. 
He  not  only  took  a  hog's  share  off  what  was  com- 
ing, but  he  wanted  everything  to  come  in  his  term. 
So  I'm  down  on  grafting  mayors  and  grafting 
office  holders.  I  tell  you  it's  good  politics  to  have 
honest  men  in  office.  I  mean  men  that  are  person- 
ally honest." 

So  they  got  John  Weaver  for  mayor,  and  hon- 
est John  Weaver  is  checking  corruption,  restoring 
order,  and  doing  a  great  many  good  things,  which 
it  is  "  good  politics  "  to  do.  For  he  is  satisfying 
the  people,  soothing  their  ruffled  pride,  and  recon- 
ciling them  to  machine  rule.  I  have  letters  from 
friends  of  mine  there,  honest  men,  who  wish  me  to 


\i.\V  YORK:  GOOD  GOVERNMENT    805 
.s  itne*«  to  the  goodMM  of  Major  Weaver     I 

machine 

leaden  are  as  carvful  with  Major  Weaver  a*  thej 

have  been  and  let  him  continue  to  give  to  the  end     \/ 

at  good  government  as  he  baa  given  to  far,  th» 

uKlphm     ,  f     Krnft     trill    UU    and 

<  It- 1  phi  a  will  never  again  be  a  free  American 

.uli-lphiii   nml   N«-w   York  began  about   the 
Mime  time,  some  thirty  years  ago, 

rnmenU.  1'hihult  Iphiii  got  M  good  gov- 
•  nun.  lit  " — what  the  Phihuli-lpliians  call  good— 
from  ,-i  corrupt  rin^j  niui  quit,  Mitisfied  to  be  a  »c«n- 
id  a  disgrace  to  democracy. 
New  York  haa  gone  on  fighting,  advancing  and  re- 
treating. f<>r  thirty  years,  till  now  it  ha*  achieved 
the  beginnings,  under  Mayor  Low,  of  a  gov- 
ernment for  tlu-  people.  Do  the  New  Yorkers 
know  it?  Do  they  care?  They  are  Americans, 

I  and  typical;  do  we  Americans  really  want 
good  govermm  nt  ?  Or,  as  I  said  at  starting,  have 
they  worked  for  thirty  years  along  the  wrong  road 

«-ded  with  unlmppy  American  cities — the 
road  to  Philadi -Iphi.-i  .uul  despair? 

Post  .SYri/>fum:  Mayor  Low  was  nominated  on 
thr  Fusion  tick.  t.  Tammany  nominated  George 
B.  McClellan.  The  local  corporations  contrib- 


306       TIIK  SIIAMi:  OF  THE  CITIKS 
uted    heavily    to    the    Tammany    campaign     fund 
and   tlu»  people  of  New    York    elected  the  Tun 
many    ticket   by    a   drrism-    majority   of   62,(><N). 
The     vote     was:       McCKllan,     314,782; 
252,086. 


- 

- 

-    • 


THE    END 


LEES  AND  I  I  WEN 

« 

No  novel  of  New   \  y  has  ever  por- 

trayed  M>  faith  fully  or  so  vividly  our  new  world 
tarn—  the  Hi-thing.  rushing  New  York  of 
to-day,  to  which  all  the  world  looks  with  such 
carious  interest  Mr.  Towiwend,  given  u»  not  a 
picture,  but  the  bustling,  nerve-racking  pageant 
itself.  The  titan  straggle*  in  the  world  of 
finance,  the  huge  hoaxes  in  «msaHnnal  news- 
paoefdom,  the  gay  life  of  the  theatre,  opera, 

ami    r«-t.uir:int,  and  tlu-n  tin-  ralim-r  ami    mm- 

l*»-iin<«       Ji,,--,  a-|t.-  ,      -^      ^li  iil»ai»«»i  1i.. 

lorting  oxNDestic  toenec  01  wikfieeoipc  living, 
pass,  as  actualities,  before  our  very  eyes.      I 
tins  turbulent  maelstrom  of  ambition,  he  finds 
room  tor  love  and  romance  also. 
There  is  a  bountiful  array  of  characters,  admi- 
rably drawn,  and  especially  delightful  are  the 
two  emotional  and  excitable  lovers,  young  Ban- 
iii-ti-r  and  Gertrude  Carr.     The  book  is  unlike 
!  >"(  lumiiiieFaddenwui  everything 
but  its  intimate  knowledge  of  New  York  life. 

Oath.  l«mo  $1.40 


QftClurc,  pljillipjJ  & 


8.  Connn 


Author  of  "The  Adventures  of  Sherlock  I  Mines" 

THE  ADVENTURES  OF 
GERARD 


r 


STORIES  of  the  remarkable  adventures  of  a 
BriLjadit -r  in  Napoleon's  army.  In  Ktienne  Ge- 
rard, Connn  I)o\le  has  added  to  his  alr«  adv  famous 
gallery  of  characters  one  \\orthv  to  stand  beside 
the  notable  Sherlock  Holmes.  Many  and  thrill- 
ing are  Gerard's  adventures,  as  related  In  himself. 
for  he  takes  part  in  nearly  every  one  of  Napoleon  s 
campaigns.  In  Venice  he  has  an  interesting 
romantic  <  scajxide  which  causes  him  the  loss  of 
an  ear.  With  the  utmost  bravery  and  eunnirg 
he  captures  the  Spanish  city  of  Saragossa ;  in 
Portugal  he  saves  the  army ;  in  Russia  he  feeds 
the  starving  soldiers  by  supplies  obtained  at 
Minsk,  after  a  wonderful  ride.  Everwhere  else 
he  is  just  as  marvelous,  and  at  Waterloo  he  is  the 
center  of  the  whole  battle. 

For  all  his  lumbering  vanity  he  is  a  genial  old 
soul  and  a  remarkably  vivid  story-teller. 

Illustrated  by  W.  B.  Wollen. 

$1.50 


jHcClurc,  $l)iUipsf  &  Co, 


»tanlrp  3- 


Author  erf  ••  A  GartiNMa  of  KIMK» 

1  ill.  I  ONC  Mi. II  I 


<  • 

•  ruffling  young  thn»  *    t..   tf,.    « ity  ;   a 

beautiful  and  innocent    . 


craft  ;  a  crafty  K-boUr  « 

•r  Sam- 

aitl* ;    •    klrrti    ami    |Miwrnul    »ytMJir   whom  thr 
•rhoUr  begun  'n»y  hU  ottce  by  i»i<iiton 

of  an  rhur  whirh  tlull  Mvr  him  fron  his  f-ul 
;  a  bruUl  ««ldirr  of  fortune ;  tbttc  an 
of  »ln<h   \\rynwui    luu  cunipuMrd    the 
-,l    and     tlmlh,,-    of    bit   raoancrm. 
M 

pl(M 

find«  at   Ust  hit  op|M  h.  n 

»»  men  of  Savor  an-  ««lu  "•<!  within 

Geneva*>  wall*,  atul  in  a  m.  urlwind  figbt- 


log  tares   »!,,    ,   ty   by   hU  courage  and  addreat. 
For  fire   and    spirit    there    an  n  in 

roodrn.  ht.  r.ttirr  noeb  at  Uiote  which  |» 
splendid  defence  of  Genera,  by  the  staid,  churrhly , 
heroic  burghers,  fi^litm^  in  their  own  bit  M  id  under 
....l,-rsl,i|.   ,.|"   tin-    •        -  mdi- 

ebon.  and  thr  lutii(l\  Irgged  sailor,  jrhan  Hrosse, 
wtm .  !  ..at Ir  against  the  armed  and  armored 

• 

lllustr.it  >mnn  J.  Solomon. 

$i  r>o 

Co. 


jHrrnman 


Author  of  "The  Sowers."  etc. 

BARLASCH  OF  THE  GUARD 


J.  HE  story  is  set  in  those  desperate  days  when 

tin-  ebbing  tide  of  Napoleon's  fortunes  swept 
Kurope    \\ith    desolation.      Barla><  \\      "I 
Itarlosch  of  the  duard,  Italy,  Egypt,  tin-  Dan- 
ube"— a  veteran  in  the  Little  ( 'm  ; 
— is  the  dominant  figure  of  the  story.      (Quar- 
tered on  a  distinguished    family  in  the  historic 
town  of  Dant/ig,  he  Ln\rs  hi^  life  to  the  ron 
of  Desiix;e,  the  daughter  of  the  family,  and  Louis 
d'Arragon,  \shose  cousin    vhi-  ha>  marrird  and 
parted  with  at  the  church  door.     Louis's  M 
with  Barlasch  for  the  missing  (  harles  pvesan 
un forgettable  picture  of  the  terrible  retreat  from 
Russia;  and  as  a  companion  picture  there  is  tin- 
heroic  defence  of  Dant/iir  by  Kapp  and  his  httli- 
army  of  sick  and  starving.      At   the  last  Bar- 
lasch,  learning  of  the  death  of  Charles,  plans 
and  executes  the  escape  of  Desiree  from  the 
beleaguered  town  to  join  Louis. 
Illustrated  by  the  Kinneys. 

SI. 50 

&  Co. 


Author  of  ••  The  CardtoaTt  Banff  BOB  " 

MY   i  KiiAD  I'Kosi'KUo 

r 

EVERYTHING  that  has  ever  delighted  you 

in    Mr.   Ilarland's  work  is  to  be  found  a 
best  in  My  /*nuptro.      Mr.   HnrUnd 

« luces  us  again  to  the  lovcm'  Italy  of  blue 
skies   and    man-clous   landscit,  1 

takes  place  in  a  magnificent  Austrian  castle  in 
iiern  Italy,  and  the  hero,  whose  real  name 
•1m,    is    an     Kn^li-lunaii        MM  h    a    u 

iglishman    as   only    M       1 1  .rhmd 

can  create.   Tne  heroine  is  the  beautiful  Maria 

Dolores,  an   Austrian   Princess,  who  is  quite 

.itrh  in  joyous  fancy  and  ijimmtneai 

.t.       The  dialogue   is  contagious  in   its 

unor,    and      the     book    ripples    with 

laugh  i  U'^i uning  to  end. 

Radiant  in  literary  styl.  The  book  must  he 

read  to  appreciate   the  author's  dclicm. 

recording  the  prayer  and  wit  of  love  in  conversation. 
1     this  novel  we  have  the  lovers'  Italy. 

—AW   York  /.'tvuray  Pott. 

As  continuously  and  unflagging!/  witty  as  anything 
that  hai  appeared  in  a  long  ttSLT t>Kl«<i4rK.  £cpH 


Avto 


jHcClurc,  pQtlKpjS  &  Co. 


Author  of  ••  Golden  Fleece." 

THE  MASTER  ROGUE 


A  STUDY  in  the  tyranny  of  wealth.  James 
(ialloway  founds  his  fortune  on  a  fraud.  He 
ruins  the  man  who  Iris  befriended  him  and  steals 
away  his  business.  Vast  railroad  operations  next 
elaira  his  attention.  He  becomes  a  bird  of  pr.  v 
in  the  financial  world.  One  by  one  he  forsakes 
his  principles;  he  becomes  a  hypocrite,  posing, 
even  to  himself.  With  the  d« -generation  of  hK 
moral  character  come  domestic  troubles.  His 
wife  grows  to  despise  him.  One  of  his  sons  be- 
comes a  spendthrift;  the  other  a  forger.  His 
daughter,  Helen,  alone  retains  any  affection  for 
him.  His  attempts  to  force  his  family  into  tin- 
most  exclusive  circles  subject  him  and  them  to 
mortifying  rebuffs,  for  all  his  millions  cannot  over- 
come the  ill-repute  of  his  name.  At  last,  with  his 
hundred  millions  won,  his  house  the  finest  in 
America,  his  name  a  name  to  conjure  with  in  the 
financial  world,  he  realizes  that  the  goal  he  has 
reached  was  not  worth  the  race.  Still  he  clings 
to  his  old  ways,  and  dies  in  a  fit  of  anger,  haggling 
over  his  daughter's  dowry.  $1.50. 


Co. 


o 


BINDING  £1.    .    MATH 


. 

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